From the Abyss
by Moonstone 04
Summary: [XENOSAGA] When the Elsa picks up a mysterious boy, Tony's life is turned upside down. TonyXchaos yaoi. [Complete]
1. Chapter 1

From the Abyss   
by Moonstone 04  
***  
  
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. ^_^ Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ^^; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].  
  
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.  
  
***  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
  
In the darkness, there was only the low hum of the Elsa, and the soft breathing of his lover in his arms. Tony let his fingers drift through chaos' silky hair. It was cool to the touch, and the silvery strands seemed to glow with their own mercury light.   
  
Something had been different today. What was different, he still couldn't figure out.  
  
There was so much he couldn't figure out when it came to chaos. In the past fourteen years, they had lived nearly every day together, but there was still so much he didn't know. Warm memory filled him, as warm and comforting as the man he held close.  
  
***  
  
Tony had first met chaos when he was fifteen years old. Back then, it had only been himself, Hammer, and Matthews onboard the Elsa. Those were particularly troubled times, but for the Elsa crew, personal matters had been more pressing than anything else going on in the galaxy.   
  
Hammer was in a bad fix, and Matthews meant to get them lost in deep space a while. Just until things cooled back down. They hadn't gone very far out when Hammer noticed something that bothered him. At the time, he was only thirteen, and was brand new on-board the Elsa himself. But he took to the navigation position like he had done it his entire life. He was a genius when it came to electronics. Of course, genius leads to curiousity, which in turn, Tony supposed, could lead to blatant stupidity. That was, after all, the reason Hammer was in trouble in the first place.  
  
"Captain Matthews." Hammer frowned into the Elsa's navigation control. "We're almost on top of Miltia. Maybe we should change course? There's no telling what we might run into up there."  
  
Matthews gave a start. "Miltia!? ...Aw, hell!" He briefly knuckled his forehead with a grimace. "Why didn't you say something earlier!" He bellowed at Hammer, then slumped back. "Damn it... It's like running a goddamned daycare around here."  
  
Hammer rolled his eyes. "Captain, you told me to take this course, remember? And I'm telling you now, before we actually end up in Miltian space."  
  
"I can't believe I dismissed a perfectly good crew for this," Matthews continued to mutter to himself. Crazy kids will be the death of me yet..."  
  
"Captain." Hammer put his head in his hands irritably, waiting for Matthews to stop ranting. "We should change course now, Captain."  
  
Tony suppressed a chuckle, pretending to be watching his station. At this rate, they were going to kill each other before the month was out. While Matthews and Hammer began arguing about which new course to take, a small red blip caught Tony's attention.   
  
"Guys, there's something out there."  
  
Matthews and Hammer fell silent.  
  
"Is it the military?" Hammer asked.  
  
"No. Wait... No, it's too small." Tony looked up from his readings to his crewmates. "But whatever it is, it's coming straight at us."  
  
Soon, it was close enough to see approaching.  
  
"Looks like space junk." Hammer said dismissively.  
  
"It could be worth something." Matthews gestured towards it. "Let's bring it in."  
  
***  
  
Once it was onboard, they were able to get a good look at it. And they still weren't sure what it was. Smooth and silvery-white, it was pod-shaped. There seemed to be no seams, or markings to indicate what it was or where it had come from.  
  
"Hmm. Maybe it's a funeral pod." Matthews mused.  
  
"You mean we just picked up a dead person?" Tony turned white.  
  
"I dunno," Hammer knelt down to tap it with his knuckles. "Those aren't this small. And usually those have some kind of engraving so you know who's inside. This looks solid."  
  
"It's probably all that's left of some poor joe somebody wanted to forget about, that's all." Matthews shrugged. "Come on, we've already wasted too much time. Let's get back to the bridge and set a new course before we land on Miltia. We'll dump this out later."  
  
***  
  
The pod was forgotten for most of the day.  
  
When Matthews finally remembered it, he ordered Tony to go down and dispose of it. Alone, Tony went down into the shadowy cargo hold. However, when he reached it, the pod was changed. It had cracked open like an egg, broken pieces, like shattered glass surrounded it. The broken pieces and parts of the pod had become translucent.  
  
Each crunch of the debris beneath his boots echoed through the large cargo hold. Tony thought his heart would beat right through his chest. "Dead people don't walk around, there's no such thing as zombies..." Tony let out a nervous little laugh.  
  
Dragging a sweaty hand down his tank top, he peered inside.  
  
Lining the inside of the pod was a white cushioning, suggesting that it was meant for someone to lie inside of. It was empty.   
  
One hand clenched onto his tank top, he looked around in a panic. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to think. Then he saw a small movement in the corner of his eye. If he hadn't been nearly paralyzed with fear, he would have screamed.  
  
Instead, he turned around.   
  
Standing between two big crates was a boy. He looked about Tony's age. A black bodysuit was all he was wearing, his hands and feet bare. His visible skin was the color of caramel, and his body was slender enough to mistake for a girl. Long silver hair cascaded over his shoulders and past his waist. His crystal blue eyes held an otherworldly light. Tony thought he looked like some kind of fallen angel.  
  
"Hey..." Tony started slowly. "What... Who are you?"  
  
There was no answer. The boy just looked Tony up and down curiously.   
  
"Do you have a name?" Tony approached a bit apprehensively.   
  
Instead of answering, the boy reached out to him. Tony was startled, but the boy was quicker. The silver-haired boy pulled him into an close embrace, nuzzling his face against Tony's neck.  
  
Electric tingles danced over his skin and static crackled in the air. Tony's breath caught, feeling as though a strange wave of energy had suddenly entered him. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was jarring. Threads of silver floating in the unseen energy aura caressed his face.  
  
Time stopped.  
  
Next thing Tony knew, everything was back to normal. The boy had stepped back and was smiling sweetly at him. Tony blinked, wondering if he was starting to lose it.  
  
***  
  
Stepping out of the elevator, Tony almost collided with Hammer.  
  
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Tony growled.   
  
"Why don't-" Hammer's voice choked in the middle of his retort as he saw who followed Tony out of the elevator. "Oh shit! You snuck a girl on-board! The Captain is going to kill you!"  
  
"He isn't a girl! He's a boy..." Tony glanced back a bit uncertainly. "I think he is, anyway. He came out of that pod we picked up."  
  
"There was someone alive in that thing!?" Hammer scrutinized the boy from behind his glasses. "So who are you, and what were you doing in there?"  
  
"He doesn't talk." Tony watched as the boy began taking in his new surroundings with big, eager eyes. "At least I haven't managed to get him to say anything. I haven't heard him so much as make a sound."  
  
Hammer twisted around as the boy began wandering off. "Hey! You can't just wander around here like that!" He talked under his breath to Tony. "We do have to tell Matthews about this, you know." With a frown, he did a quick double take at the boy. Then he raised an eyebrow at Tony. "Are you sure that's not a girl?"  
  
***  
  
"Kid, pay attention."  
  
Tony rolled a kink out of his shoulder and leaned back against the console. It looked like Matthews was going to pop a vein trying to get the boy to talk. No matter what Matthews said or threatened, the boy just smiled that little secret smile while he swayed a bit on the balls of his feet. His hair flowed to and fro with each sway, and light rippled through it like water. Tony felt hypnotized by it. Hammer had long since lost interest in the whole matter and was messing around with his console again.  
  
"What-is-your-name?"  
  
The boy twisted some of the silky mass that was his hair around his hands, and just continued smiling. Tony couldn't help wondering what it would feel like to put his hands into that. Then he scowled a bit as he caught the thought. Maybe he'd been out in space too long. Damn it, why did the guy have to be so pretty?   
  
As if he could tell what he was thinking about, the boy's knowing blue eyes caught his. They glittered with unvoiced laughter. A hard blush rushed to Tony's cheeks.  
  
"To hell with it, I give up." Matthews growled. "Whoever he is, we're stuck with him for a while. We're not going near any ports for a few months, so we can't drop him off." He pointed a finger at Tony. "He's your responsibility until then."  
  
"Me!?" Tony kicked himself upright. "Why me?"  
  
"Because you found 'im, that's why!" Matthews barked. "I'm not running a daycare, no matter how many of you brats stowaway on my ship! Keep him out of trouble and out of my hair. That's an order."  
  
"Aye..." Tony mumbled.  
  
"Now go find him some real clothes and feed him before he gets any skinnier."  
  
"Right." Tony motioned to the boy to follow him as he started towards the back of the bridge. As before, the angelic boy happily shadowed him.  
  
"And do something about that hair! On my ship, men look like men, damn it!"  
  
Tony cringed. "Aye, Captain."  
  
***  
  
"Okay, let's see." Tony opened his closet and pushed through some old shirts. The boy was smaller than he was, but he was sure there was something in his wardrobe that would fit him. "I've got some old shirts and things in here I don't wear anymore. You can pick out something from these." Gathering up a bundle of clothes, he turned around.  
  
The boy was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bottom bunkbed, straight-backed with his arms before him. His toes curled as Tony met his smile.   
  
"Yeah..." Tony spread the offering on the bed. "So there it is. See anything you like?"  
  
The boy unfolded his legs and stood. He stared at the pile of clothing for a moment, his head cocked in casual contemplation. It was mostly grays and greens, the usual drab stuff Tony tended to wear. But the boy's eyes lit up at the brightest, and most unusual item in the tangle of chalky sweatpants and muddy tanktops.  
  
It was a bright tangerine vest trimmed with star-blue and adorned with bright brass buttons. It fit snugly when the boy pulled it on over his bodysuit.  
  
Once, Tony had worn that vest everywhere. It had been given to him by his grandmother, who said it made him look dashing. After joining the Elsa crew, he had felt it looked too childish. Seeing the boy wearing it, he felt a bit nostalgic.  
  
"The rest of that outfit is in here somewhere..." Tony dug through the rest of the clothes and pulled out a pair of white trousers trimmed with the same star-blue. It also had a wide, white belt, sporting the same brass buttons as the vest. When the boy pulled them on, they were a bit too long.   
  
"Uh..." Tony rubbed the side of his face thoughtfully. The kid's legs weren't even long enough to reach his feet through the baggy trousers. "I guess we'll have to trim a bit."   
  
Tony retrieved a pair of scissors from his desk, but confronted with trimming his old trousers, he hesitated. "Wait, maybe we can just roll it up." He dropped the scissors onto the bed. "I've got some boots that go with that, maybe we can just roll it up in those..." With that, he went searching back inside the closet.  
  
After a bit of digging, Tony found what he was looking for. Dragging himself back out of the closet, he was just in time to hear the last bit of snipping. He turned around to see the boy standing there, scissors in hand, looking very pleased with himself in the remnants of Tony's old trousers.  
  
***  
  
"What the hell...!? Tony!"  
  
Tony marched grimly into the restaurant, pulling the ever-smiling silver-haired boy behind him. "Not a word, Matthews! It's the best I could do, and I'm seriously not in the mood to hear about it!"  
  
Hammer snickered into his dinner. "That old thing? I thought you burned it! Nice alterations too..."   
  
"Shaddap!" Tony slapped Hammer in the back of the head.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
"What did I tell you about the hair?" Matthews leaned back in the booth.  
  
"I know, I know." Tony slid into the booth and the boy followed suit. "Later."   
  
Digging into his dinner, it was a few minutes until he realized that Matthews and Hammer were staring. Next to him, the boy was imitating his every movement. At the moment, he was frozen over his plate, a spoonful paused before his open mouth. Blue eyes were watching him expectantly.   
  
Lifting his spoon slightly, Tony watched the boy do likewise. Slowly, he put the spoon into his mouth, and the boy did the same. When he pulled the spoon out, the boy did as well, but Tony noticed a small pink tongue quickly flicker out to lick his lips. Tony frowned and put down his spoon.   
  
"C'mon, stop that."  
  
The boy just put his spoon down and waited for him.  
  
"He sure is a strange one," said Hammer.  
  
Tony was still irritated about having his once prized pair of trousers reduced to short-shorts. He had tried to convince the boy to try on another pair of pants, but it did no good. The boy refused to take them off. He was still wearing them over his black bodysuit, along with the vest. But he had accepted the matching boots immediately. Like the vest, the boots were orange with star-blue trim and brass buckles. It was almost like the kid was trying to be him. It was kinda cute at first, but it was getting annoying.  
  
And a little creepy.  
  
Grumbling, he went back to his meal, ignoring the mirrored actions beside him. Not to mention the snickers of his two crewmates.  
  
***  
  
After dinner, it was back to the cabin. Tony retrieved the scissors and looked to the task before him. Sitting with his back to him, the boy seemed entirely complacent. Timidly running his fingertips down the glossy silver hair, Tony wasn't sure if he could do it. He had never seen hair that beautiful before.  
  
Still, orders were orders.  
  
"Sit still, this shouldn't take long."  
  
It felt like blasphemy as the scissors cut through the mercury waves. When the deed was finally done, puddles of silver lay at Tony's feet. The boy's hair no longer reached beyond his shoulders.   
  
Tony sighed as the boy turned around with his familiar little smile. "That's the best I can do. That better be enough to satisfy Matthews."  
  
The cabin door whisked open. Hammer stepped in, then stopped dead in his tracks. He took one good look at the boy and burst into laughter. "My god, what'd you do to him!"  
  
"I'm a pilot, not a hairdresser!" Tony snapped. "His hair is cut, and that's that."  
  
The boy's hair was clearly a hack job. Tony had cut it jagged, and some tufts stuck out unevenly. And a bit of hair that had once been weighed down by its length had become an outrageous cowlick curving up like some kind of feathery topknot.   
  
"I'm sure it can be fixed with gel." Tony said evenly.  
  
***  
  
Gel couldn't fix it. Matthews wasn't sure if it was really an improvement, but Tony refused to cut it any further. And that was that.  
  
***  
  
For the next few days, it was life as normal aboard the Elsa, except for the silver-haired waif that followed Tony everywhere. On the bridge, he often stood or crouched near the pilot's seat. Following Tony to the lower decks, he would shadow him from one task to another with great interest. Sometimes it was annoying, but after a while, Tony found himself idly talking to him. The boy never said a word, but Tony liked having someone so willing to listen during the long, lonely hours.  
  
"I should be cruising dock colonies right now," Tony sighed. He and the boy were wandering through one of the Elsa's storerooms checking resources again. "This is all Hammer's fault, you know. He's been getting me in trouble since we were kids. Always this or that, and I'd always have to get involved."  
  
Crystal blue eyes twinkled with understanding.  
  
"The guy's too clever for his own good. Had to stick his nose in where it didn't belong. You know he went and hacked into a criminal organization's network? Ends up that's how he managed to hook up Matthews with this ship some years back. And all this time we thought he just had a good inside connection... Some connections." Tony snorted.  
  
The boy nodded his head slightly.  
  
"Well, not too long ago, he comes crying to me that he's in trouble again. Seems the mob guys found out he was spying on their stuff, and they weren't very happy about it. I barely convinced Matthews to let him hide out here with us. So thanks to him, we're on the run. If we're ever caught, it isn't going to be pretty."  
  
Leaning his arm against a crate, Tony stopped to give him a serious look. "I bet you've been in some bad trouble too. You came from Miltia, didn't you?"  
  
The boy's smile waned a bit, and he gave Tony a blank look.  
  
"Yeah. There's crazy stuff happening these days. And the way you showed up..." Tony shook his bangs away from his face with a toss of his head. "I was afraid you might be a Realian or somethin'. But you seem human enough, even if you are weird."  
  
This was answered with a bright smile.  
  
"Yeah, definitely weird." Tony could't help smiling himself. "I wish you'd say something though. Then you could tell me just what you were doing out there. Or at least tell me your name, y'know?"  
  
The boy shyly turned his face away.  
  
"Hmph. Well, guess you can't help it." Tony ruffled the top of his silvery hair, making even more strands stick out in wild directions. The boy's dark cheeks grew rosy. "In any case, you're going to be stuck here with us for quite a while." Tony frowned around at the large storeroom. "With all the chaos going on in the galaxy right now, it's safer to steer clear of civilization for the time being. So maybe Hammer just did us all a favor." He shook his head. "That'd be the day."  
  
"chaos."  
  
The soft tenor voice came out of nowhere. A chill went through Tony. He turned and stared at the boy in shock. "Did... Did you just say something...?"  
  
The boy wasn't smiling. He wasn't even looking at Tony. His expression had become withdrawn and troubled. The lips moved. "chaos."  
  
"You... talk!" Tony exclaimed loudly.  
  
This seemed to startle the boy out of whatever funk he had been in. He looked at Tony with wide eyes, then broke into a smile. "chaos!"  
  
Tony narrowed his eyes, regaining his calm. "Okay... Can you say anything other than that?"  
  
"chaos." The boy said happily.  
  
"Alrighty..." Tony sighed.  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

From the Abyss   
by Moonstone 04  
***  
  
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. ^_^ Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ^^; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].  
  
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.  
  
***  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
  
Eventually the boy started talking more and more. The crew took to calling him 'chaos', since it was all he would say during that first month. Over the next few months he expanded his vocabulary, but it was only a few random words at a time. But then the words started to accumulate quicker, and around year's end he started speaking in sentences.   
  
Communication with chaos had improved, but he remained as mysterious as ever. Questions about his name and where he had come from still only received a shrug. Pressing him never got anyone anywhere.  
  
chaos was still like a shadow, but Tony had long become used to it.  
  
"Tony, this is boring." chaos was standing next to the pilot seat on the Elsa bridge, as usual. "The ship can fly itself, let's go."  
  
"I'm the pilot, this is where I belong." Tony crossed his arms importantly. "You never know what could happen. I have to stay alert."  
  
"Nothing's happening. Nothing ever happens. It's boring."  
  
"Pfft. Go watch U.M.N. transmissions with Hammer."  
  
"Only if you come with me."  
  
"chaos... You do realize I don't have you by a tether. You're free to wander the ship by yourself. If you're bored, go do something."  
  
"I don't want to be by myself." chaos told him.  
  
"Then go bug Matthews, and he can tell you about all the money he owes on this ship for the umpteenth time. He's probably still in the restaurant half-drunk out of his mind."  
  
With a soft exasperated sound, chaos wandered towards the back of the bridge. When Tony realized that chaos had actually moved away, he nearly turned all the way out of the pilot's seat. He found that chaos had only gone higher on the bridge and was just swaying slightly, tapping his foot as he tended to do when he was thoughtful or bored. In this case, probably the latter.  
  
Folding his arms behind his head, chaos turned to give him the full force of those big blue eyes. "Please Tony, walk with me?"  
  
"I don't see why you can't just walk around here." Tony ran a hand back through his hair. "But what the hell. Just stop with the face."  
  
They left the bridge. "Tony?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Is the captain going to make me leave?"  
  
Tony stopped. "What..."  
  
chaos glanced towards the cabins, then returned his solemn gaze. "Hammer has said... He said everything was calming down. And the captain..."  
  
"Is that what's been bothering you? You had to drag me out here to tell me that?"  
  
"I wanted to make sure you were paying attention to me."  
  
Tony blinked. "Oh. Well, I don't know. The captain did say we were going to drop you off when we finally came into port. I don't think he's changed his mind."  
  
"I don't want to go." chaos said softly. "I... I don't have anywhere to go. Can't I stay? Can't I do something?"  
  
"I'm sure I can... I can talk to Matthews." Tony felt like he was trying to reassure himself as much as chaos. "Besides, it's probably too soon to be heading back. I wouldn't get too worked up over something Hammer says."  
  
chaos seemed to consider this. Then he embraced Tony. "Don't let me go."  
  
Letting go was the last thing on Tony's mind. Holding onto chaos was just too nice. His hair smelled sweet and powdery. The desire to bury his nose in it was almost too much. chaos was so warm and soft. Tony wanted...  
  
chaos trembled.  
  
Tony closed his eyes. What was he thinking? He was straight, wasn't he? He'd been with girls before, so he must be, right? He wasn't really thinking that way about chaos. Right? God, his pants were starting to strangle him.  
  
chaos made a soft breathy sound that made Tony open his eyes.  
  
A guy couldn't like guys if they liked girls too, right? Oh wait... Aw, hell. Something distinctly hard was pressing into his groin. Realizing what it was, Tony felt like he was going to burn alive. Oh no... If Matthews... No, worse, if Hammer walked in now and found them like this...   
  
It took all the will power he had to pull away from chaos. Tony knew his face was cherry red, but he tried to compose himself. "Don- Don't worry about it. It's gonna be okay."  
  
He tried to tell himself chaos wasn't staring at his crotch. Nodding, the silver-haired boy wouldn't meet his eyes. "I understand."  
  
To Tony's disbelief, chaos turned and exited through the elevator.  
  
***  
  
After that, Tony wasn't sure what to do. His emotions were a mess. He was so confused. What did he want? Maybe it would be better if chaos did go away. Then he might not think about him all the time the way he did. His life could go back to the way it was before. It would be so much easier.  
  
But the thought left him painfully empty inside.   
  
That was yesterday, and since then chaos had been avoiding him. Matthews and Hammer knew that something was wrong, but they had no idea. Tony let them believe that chaos was just tired of hanging around him all the time. It was really all he could tell them.   
  
Entering the restaurant, he found chaos sitting alone at the bar. If he noticed Tony come in, he gave no notice. He was deeply involved in a card game with the robotic bartender, his elbow on the table and his cards pressed to his lips.  
  
When Tony looked at chaos, all he could think of was how his body felt pressed against his own. The physical memory made him burn all over again.  
  
"Yo, chaos." It felt like someone else talking a mile off as he trudged inside.  
  
There was no reaction from chaos. He simply selected a card from his hand and put it down. His robotic opponent hummed and metallic joints clacked as it came to life to make its move. Tony sat down next to chaos.  
  
"Tony." chaos nodded curtly.  
  
"About yesterday." Tony fumbled for words. "I- I didn't mean... I mean, y'know... I don't want you to go either. You get me, right?"  
  
"Maybe."  
  
Bowing his head in frustration, Tony buried his hands in his already messy hair. "Aw, c'mon chaos, why do you have to make this so hard?"  
  
A whisper of a smile graced chaos' features. "Tony, I'm just playing cards. Do you want to play with me after I'm done with this game?"  
  
Tony gave him a hard stare. Then he sighed and dug into his pockets for his deck.  
  
***  
  
That night, Tony couldn't sleep. He had to think of something to convince Matthews to let chaos stay on the Elsa. It had to be something good, because Tony knew he had already stretched the limit of favors by asking him to take in Hammer.   
  
At some point, he finally fell asleep.   
  
A soft touch brushed across his forehead. He didn't stir, it was so nice and dark. Utterly silent. A tingle of sensation caressed his mouth.  
  
Unseen hands splayed up his chest, and went on to stroke his arms. Stretching beneath the touch, he became aware that he was not alone.   
  
Fingertips trailed down his hips to tease as they wound down his inner thighs. He was wearing boxers, but somehow the touch never left his skin. His breath quickened as the fingers roamed back up between his legs to fondle him. His head fell back as he submitted to a searching, spiritual kiss.  
  
As his arousal grew, he became more aware. There was nothing in the darkness, and his bed and surroundings were as they always were. Yet the unseen presence continued to press kisses beneath his jaw, and the stroking hands were making him sweat with pleasure.  
  
Rock hard, arching his back in the dead silence, Tony knew he wasn't dreaming. Something very strange was happening, but though he thought he should be, he wasn't frightened. Cool breath whispered against his skin. A flood of sensation suddenly flowed through him, and he gasped, his thighs quivering.   
  
Groaning with pleasure, he half wondered why no one was waking up with all the noise he was making. He writhed breathlessly in the darkness, the unseen entity moving with him, driving him to ecstacy.  
  
The electric touches were growing frantic, as if trying to stroke his whole body at once. Feverish kisses forced his head back as his body arched towards completion. Cries of blinding pleasure choked in his throat as an electric energy suddenly surged into his body, becoming one with him.   
  
Before it completely overwhelmed him, he heard chaos' pleasure laced cry.  
  
Slowly opening his eyes, Tony wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he could feel the echo of his orgasm. Still hot and catching his breath, he eased himself into a sitting position. Everything was silent except for Hammer's snoring and the hum of Elsa.  
  
Quietly standing, he looked up into he bunk above his. chaos was still fast asleep, facing the wall. Rubbing his throat, Tony wiped away a sheen of sweat. So, it had just been a dream. Of course.  
  
With a low mumble, he stumbled off to the bathroom. He was a mess. Dream or not, he needed a good shower. Preferrably cold.  
  
***  
  
The next morning, Tony still didn't know what he was going to tell Matthews. And if he didn't come up with something soon, chaos was going to get distant again. As it was, chaos was already up and out of the cabin by the time Tony woke up.   
  
At breakfast, Hammer leaned over the back of the booth where Tony was sitting. "Hey," he whispered. "What's up with chaos?"  
  
Tony shrugged. "How should I know?"  
  
"I'm just tired, that's all." chaos smiled as he approached the booth. "I didn't sleep well." He sat across from Tony, though he didn't make eye contact.   
  
"Well, I slept like a baby." Hammer told them. "Last night the captain told me we're finally heading back to port. We'll finally be getting a change in scenery!"  
  
chaos smiled weakly into his oatmeal.  
  
"Are you sure about that?" Tony stirred his spoon slowly. "Those mob guys might still be waiting for you. If I were you, I wouldn't want to head back so soon."  
  
"It's been over a year, and there hasn't been any activity around where we're going." Hammer said. "I thought you of all people would be overjoyed to be heading back. Just think, finally after a whole year, real food and real girls!"  
  
Across the table, chaos started choking on his breakfast.  
  
Half rising out of his seat, Tony handed him a glass of water. Accepting it, chaos drank deeply while Tony moved behind him and placed a hand on his back.  
  
"You okay?" Tony asked.  
  
chaos nodded. "Thanks, I'm fine now."  
  
"Shouldn't eat so fast." Hammer said. "Well, I'll be down below if anyone needs me. Gotta make sure everything's good to go for the return trip!" He grinned. With a half wave, he disappeared out the restaurant doors.  
  
Watching Hammer go, Tony slid back into his seat. He looked to chaos, but the other boy was staring into his water glass.  
  
"chaos?"  
  
With a slight jump, chaos lifted his head. "Hm?"  
  
"I'm going to talk to Matthews today. We'll work something out. Don't worry about it, okay?" Tony tried to sound confident, even though his stomach was twisting into knots.  
  
chaos smiled and lowered his gaze. "Tony, maybe I should talk to him. I don't want to cause you anymore trouble. In fact, maybe..."  
  
Before Tony knew what he was doing, he reached across the table and clasped chaos' hand. It was warm.  
  
"I said I was going to talk to him. Besides, I've known him the longest, it's better that I do it. And you aren't trouble."  
  
A slender silver eyebrow curved skeptically.  
  
"Please let me do this." Tony's thumb slipped across chaos' fingers.  
  
"Okay." chaos nodded and looked away at the stars gliding by the window. He squeezed Tony's hand and lingered a moment before pulling away. "But right now, I just want to finish breakfast."  
  
***  
  
Tony found Matthews on the bridge. From the interest he was giving his console on the captain's chair, Tony knew he was probably planning their next destination. It was time to get it out and over with.  
  
"Captain, you can't be serious about heading back already."  
  
"Now what're ya complaining about?" Matthews glanced over.  
  
"I know the plan was to drop off chaos at the first opportunity." Tony said. "But the world out there is still too dangerous, and he's a complete blank slate. You know that. If we abandon him out there, who knows what will happen to him!" His voice was beginning to rise. "I want him to stay with the Elsa."  
  
"You crazy?!" Matthews looked incredulous. "Tony, I didn't wanna frighten you guys, but c'mon, use your common sense! Look at 'im! He doesn't look like any kind of Realian I've ever seen, but there's something not right about 'im! He came from Miltia, for god's sakes! Keeping him around is only gonna bring more trouble that we don't need!"  
  
"I- I can't believe you! Did you pull him out of the frying pan just to throw him back into the fire? chaos is all alone, we're all he's got." Tony knew he was toeing over the line, but his fury pushed him on. "I don't care what you think he is! He's done nothing other than look for acceptance!"  
  
"Tony..." Matthews growled in warning.  
  
"Look, if he goes, then I go!" Tony clenched his fists.   
  
"No!"   
  
Tony and Matthews turned in surprise at chaos' sudden entrance at the back of the bridge. He was staring at Tony with a frown. "I won't let you do that, Tony. If I have to go, then I'll go. I don't want to cause any trouble."  
  
Matthews tugged on the brim of his cap. He seemed somewhat ashamed, and Tony was damned glad. But guilt wasn't enough to persuade Matthews.  
  
"I wasn't gonna break it to you quite like that." The captain turned to chaos. "But I guess there's no use trying to be delicate anymore."  
  
"That isn't like you, captain." chaos smiled sadly.   
  
"Yeah, well, when we stop at the next dock colony, I'll try to find you some help." Matthews told him. "With all the war orphans out there, you'll hardly be alone. It won't be so bad, you'll see."  
  
"I've heard enough." Tony stormed off the bridge. If he had to listen to Matthews for one more second, he knew he might do something regrettable.  
  
When he finally stopped, he was all the way back in the rear hangar. The burning inside that had fueled him up until that point went cold. It felt like a big gaping hole had been burned out of his gut. Tony fell cross-legged to the cold metal floor.  
  
Hunched over, he held his head in one hand. Like hell he was gonna cry. He took a few deep breaths. There had to be something he could do. If he could just sort himself out long enough to think.   
  
Soft footsteps echoed in the big lonely hangar.  
  
"It sure is cold back here." chaos said, sitting next to him.  
  
"I don't get you."  
  
"What don't you get?"  
  
"I told you I would handle it. Why did you have to cut in like that? I thought you wanted to stay on the Elsa!"  
  
"I do." Blue eyes looked up at him. "But I meant what I said. I don't want to be trouble. You belong on the Elsa."  
  
"So do you." Tony said firmly.  
  
Lowering his gaze, chaos' face was lost in silver.   
  
Elsa hummed while they sat in warm silence. It was dark and smelled of cold metal. chaos was right, this was his home. He couldn't imagine living anywhere else, not anymore. When he was at the pilot's controls, he truly felt alive. He wanted that for chaos.   
  
"Everything feels like a dream. A dream I float through without being able to touch anything. I can see the colors, and it's so beautiful. But I just can't touch it." chaos was staring down at his palms.  
  
Tony blinked. "Huh?"  
  
With a soft sigh, chaos tucked his arms around himself. "It's nothing important. Just a little uneasy. But I'll be fine."  
  
At that moment, chaos seemed smaller and lonelier than Tony had ever seen him. His arm went around the boy's shoulders and pulled him close. chaos leaned into him, his head finding comfort on Tony's chest. Closing his eyes, Tony lay a cheek against silken hair.   
  
For a long time they stayed that way.  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

From the Abyss   
by Moonstone 04  
***  
  
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. ^_^ Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ^^; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].  
  
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.  
  
***  
  
Chapter 3  
  
  
When he was sure the captain was elsewhere, Tony returned to the bridge. At least piloting the Elsa was one thing he still had control of. When he got there, Hammer was already manning his usual station.  
  
"The captain give our destination yet?" Tony grouched.  
  
Hammer glanced up as Tony trudged by to his piloting station. "Yeah... You know he's planning on leaving off chaos, right?"  
  
"You just caught on, huh?"  
  
"Guess it kinda slipped my mind." Hammer said. "I noticed chaos seemed a little down lately, but I was so excited about everything... I should of known. It isn't gonna be the same without the little weirdo around."  
  
Tony slouched over his console with a grunt.  
  
"Listen. Maybe if the Elsa strays a little off course, we'll be able to buy some more time." Hammer lowered his voice. "One wrong gatejump, and a little bug in the system, and the Elsa could be out for days, maybe weeks."  
  
Tony slowly lifted his head. "Hammer?"  
  
"Y'think?"  
  
"If the captain finds out, he's gonna kill us."  
  
"What's one more person out to get me?" Hammer grinned. "And I don't want to see chaos go either. The captain isn't the most compassionate man in the world, but there must be something we can do to convince him to let chaos stay."  
  
"I dunno..." Tony shook his head. "I've already tried. Unless you can buy enough time for a miracle, I'm not sure what we can do."  
  
Hammer's fingers danced over the navigation console. "Well, a week is all we've got. That'll have to be enough for a miracle."  
  
***  
  
When the Elsa's faulty navigation ended them up back out in the middle of nowhere, Matthews wasn't pleased, to say the least. It seemed that Hammer was going to need at least a week to run the type of full diagnostic that the Elsa's systems needed. Or so Hammer said.  
  
Just one more week for Tony to find a way to help chaos. In the meantime, Hammer was trying to teach him bridge protocol at the engineer's control. Tony didn't know if it was possible to make chaos crewworthy within a week, but they were sure gonna try.  
  
Entering the bridge, he found Hammer standing over chaos with a blank look. The silver-haired boy was looking from one screen to the next, his slender fingers working energetically across the console. It almost looked like chaos knew what he was doing.  
  
Since Hammer had just started teaching him that morning, that was impossible. Tony stood next to Hammer. "So how's it going?"  
  
"Hey Tony." chaos paused to give him a cheerful smile. "This is fun."  
  
"Fun, huh?"  
  
Hammer gripped his arm, making him flinch. "Man, this is crazy. He works it like he's done it before."  
  
"I'm not that good." chaos gave a small shake of his head. "You shouldn't make such a big deal about it, Hammer."  
  
"Yeah, get a grip." Tony removed Hammer's hand before his circulation was completely cut off. "You're just a good teacher. After all, aren't you the genius?"  
  
Hammer looked from Tony to chaos' console. "But I hardly told him anything! He just sat there and started running things on his own! Manually! No one's that much of a natural!"  
  
Tony frowned. "Have you been on a ship before, chaos?"  
  
chaos fidgeted a bit. "I don't think so."  
  
"You sure?" Tony's eyes roamed over the engineer's console. "I mean, even we usually just let the system do this stuff automatically. You've gotta at least know something about eng-"  
  
chaos abruptly pushed away from the console, his eyes panicky. "Guys, I really appreciate everything you're trying to do. But do you think we could go have lunch now? I'm really hungry."  
  
Tony stared in concerned silence.  
  
"Food, good." Hammer nodded wearily. He pointed at chaos. "chaos cooks. I think my brain is fried."  
  
***  
  
Hammer went into the restaurant, and Tony joined chaos in the kitchen. While chaos put together some sandwiches, Tony started up some soup.  
  
"Tony?" chaos looked back to the counter where Tony was cooking. "Do you think you can show me how you fly the ship? I'd really like to see that."  
  
"You sure you're not already some ace pilot?" Tony smiled. "Maybe you'll end up teaching me a thing or two."   
  
"No," chaos rubbed his arm bashfully. "I'm pretty sure I don't know much of anything about piloting." He blinked thoughtfully. "And no one is as good a pilot as you are, you've said so yourself. There must be a lot you can show me."  
  
"Hmph." Tony raised an eyebrow, wondering whether or not chaos was being sarcastic. The guy was so nice, it could be impossible to tell sometimes. He smiled with a half shrug. "Yeah, I guess there is."  
  
"So, tonight after dinner and nightchecks?" chaos asked eagerly.   
  
"Why not after lunch?" Tony turned off the stove. "That's kinda late, don't ya think? I'll probably be half asleep."  
  
"There's still something I want to talk to Hammer about this afternoon. I don't know how long it'll take. We'll just play some music on the bridge, that'll keep you up."  
  
Tony sighed. "Alright, we'll give it a try."  
  
***  
  
For the remainder of the day, Tony didn't see chaos. That was because Tony spent hours cleaning up the main hanger. He had thought chaos might at least drop by and help the way he usually did. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to. chaos could be chatty, even if he rarely talked about anything that made much sense. Hammer had once called chaos a 'mad poet', and Tony thought it might not be far from the truth.  
  
At dinner, chaos was still absent. Hammer told Tony that chaos was still messing with something at the U.M.N. terminal. For some reason, Matthews rolled his eyes, and shook his head. When Tony asked what chaos was up to, Hammer's reply was choked with giggles, and Matthews told him to shut up while he was trying to eat.  
  
After dinner, it was time to do the nightly system checks before calling it a day. On the way to the bridge, he noticed that chaos was no longer at the U.M.N. terminal.  
  
He wasn't on the bridge, either.  
  
"That's it for me," Matthews said, pulling down his cap brim. He stepped down from the captain's chair and turned to exit the bridge. "I'm gonna have one more drink before I turn in for the night."  
  
"Translation: going to drink myself into a stupor and collapse in a booth." Hammer muttered from his station.  
  
"What was that?" Matthews growled.  
  
"Nothing, nothing..." Hammer hummed.  
  
With a snort, Matthews trudged off the bridge.  
  
A moment later, Hammer stood and went over to Tony's seat. He leaned over Tony with a rather disturbing grin. Tony raised his eyebrows, wondering if he wanted to know what was going on in the twisted mind behind those shiny glasses.  
  
"What?" Tony asked in an exasperated tone.  
  
"Mmm... I guess it can wait." Hammer chuckled in a way that reminded Tony of an evil overlord from an old U.M.N. program he once watched. "Good night!" The navigator walked off with a suggestive wink.  
  
Tony momentarily wondered if Hammer had finally lost his marbles.   
  
The last one left on the bridge, Tony sat back and waited. chaos still wasn't there. He wondered if chaos might have forgotten, but he doubted that was the case. Whatever was keeping him, he hoped he wouldn't be too much longer. Tony's eyes were beginning to get heavy. Seemingly an arm's length away, a field of bright, colorful stars glittered before him. Watching them, he was slowly lulled into slumber.  
  
"Tony?"  
  
With a short utterance, Tony jumped awake. His arms unfolded from his chest, and he looked up to see chaos standing beside him.  
  
"Oh, there you are." Tony rubbed at his eyes. "Wasn't sure if you were gonna show."  
  
chaos gave a nervous, little apologetic smile. "Sorry."  
  
"Guess we should get started then," Tony yawned. Blinking to keep himself awake, he began to explain the controls. He wasn't sure if he was making much sense, chaos just nodded at everything he said.  
  
After a few minutes, Tony noticed that chaos didn't seem to be paying attention anymore. He just seemed to be giving the controls a heavy-lidded stare. "chaos? Are you falling asleep on me now?"  
  
"Uh?" chaos snapped out of it and looked over at Tony. "Oh. I'm sorry, I think my mind's wandering."  
  
"Told you it was late for this," Tony smirked. "I think we should continue this in the morning. That way we'll both be awake."  
  
chaos sighed.  
  
Tony frowned slightly in concern. "You okay?"  
  
At this, chaos looked at him, his blue eyes clouded with emotion. "I tried to ask Hammer to help me, but I'm still..." His voice became thick and hushed. "I'm afraid. I'm not even sure what I'm afraid of, it's just a whisper floating in mist."  
  
Those eyes seemed to hold him there. Tony wasn't sure if he could've moved if he tried. His heart was pounding wildly in his chest. He didn't know why, but something in the air had changed. It was as if the bridge atmosphere had become thick and warm. Not just in his imagination, but something tangible that he could actually taste. Something sweet.  
  
"Wh- What did you ask Hammer to help you with?" Tony asked.  
  
For a moment, chaos seemed hesitant. He shifted his weight to one foot and bowed his head uneasily. Then he put one heavy boot forward and leaned across the pilot's seat. Tony leaned back in surprise.  
  
Next thing he knew, his vision was filled with crystalline blue eyes. The expression he saw shimmering in those eyes was one Tony recognized, but was still unwilling to accept. chaos simply couldn't be looking at him...that way. But all thought was swept away as the view of those blue depths was replaced by the tentative touch of chaos' lips pressing softly to his mouth.   
  
It was an innocent kiss, but Tony could feel the tremble of a darker desire in the questing lips. It echoed through him, daring him to give in to the emotions he had denied for many long months. Feeling chaos straddle his lap, Tony gave an involuntary whimper. Slender fingers came to rest on his shoulders, burning him with their slight touch.  
  
God, he wanted chaos. He couldn't try to deny it any longer. It was simply useless. He wanted him, maybe even loved him. If it made him bi, then so be it. All he knew at that moment was that he wanted to feel chaos in his arms. If anyone were to walk in now, he would kick their asses. Even if it was the captain.  
  
His breath coming in small puffs, chaos was growing restless on his lap. Daring to take things up a notch, Tony put his arms around him and pulled him closer. One hand slid down to feel the tight curve of chaos' perfect rear. Rewarded with a soft gasp, Tony took the opportunity to slip his tongue into chaos' mouth and deepened the kiss.  
  
When chaos stiffened, Tony thought he might resist, but within a moment, the silver-haired boy melted against him. Muffled sounds of pleasure strung out from chaos' throat, and his hands began grasping at Tony's shoulders. Though quieter, Tony was nearly ready to skyrocket himself. The way chaos had begun subtly rocking against him was driving him wild.  
  
"Please..." chaos whimpered breathlessly as Tony attacked beneath his jaw with rough swipes of his tongue. His grip tightened as the blond pilot began to suckle at his throat. "Tony... Tony..." He trembled. "Uhh..."  
  
Though his mind was hazy with lust, Tony was still surprised when he realized chaos was pulling his vest off. One shoulder rose, then the other, before the vest was dropped aside. When he began to pry his bodysuit over his collarbone, Tony reached up to help him peel it off.  
  
As the skintight material was slowly removed, Tony was rewarded with inch by inch of newly revealed golden brown skin. Bare arms pulled free of their restraints, chaos wrapped them around Tony's neck, leaning in for another kiss. His meekness had all but disappeared as he met Tony's mouth in a breathless, heated crush.  
  
Sliding his hands up and down chaos' back, he felt a feathery sensation beneath his touch. The sensation danced as if alive, as if chaos' skin were emitting a static charge. Whatever it was, the feathery sensation seemed to be growing, teasing his senses in a pleasurable way.   
  
"I can't believe we're doing this," Tony panted. His fingertip traced around a chocolate brown nipple, eliciting tremulous shivers from the other boy. "Is this... Did you...?" He couldn't seem to find the words, the emotion and need in chaos' face were possibly the most distracting thing he'd ever seen.   
  
Those darkening blue eyes unfocused as he took Tony's hand, drawing it down from his erect nipple, to an erection of a different sort. The swell beneath Tony's hand was straining against the tight confines of chaos' shorts. Just the sight of it made him ache in sympathy. Gently grasping it sent chaos arching back with a cry, clear as ice in a crystal glass.  
  
The way chaos trembled and cried, his head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut as he panted with his mouth wide open... Tony lost all sanity.  
  
Next thing he knew, he was laying chaos back against the console, unsnapping large brass belt buttons, and working to pull off those cruel white shorts. Supporting himself on his arms, chaos lifted his legs so Tony could more easily slip them off. The small white and blue scrap of clothing went flying across the bridge.  
  
Only the thin jet material of chaos' bodysuit still clung to his skin. Tony lifted chaos up to tug down the bodysuit the rest of the way down. For several moments, Tony could do nothing but stare. God, he was even more beautiful than he could have imagined.   
  
"Tony..." Breathless, chaos pushed himself up and tugged at one of the straps of the pilot's tanktop. "May I... May I see...? Please..."  
  
"It's only fair," Tony chuckled roughly. He pulled the tanktop over his head and put it aside. It was all happening so fast... But somewhere inside, he had wanted this for so long.   
  
Slender fingers spread across his chest and down his stomach. Tony shivered. There was something very familiar about the touch. Something new and intense was shining in chaos' eyes that made him quiver.  
  
"Better than I dreamed..." chaos whispered as his eyes trailed downwards.   
  
With great eagerness, chaos unclasped and unzipped Tony's pants, pulling his boxers down with them. Then Tony's knees threatened to give out in shock and pleasure. Everything else seemed to fade out, and his hands on chaos' shoulders was all that was anchoring him to the world. Somewhere his mind was spinning wondering where chaos had learned to do what he was doing. But those thoughts were being crushed by the incredible warm suction of chaos' lips.  
  
When chaos started giving muffled moans, Tony gently removed him. He pushed him back onto the console again. By now the other boy was shivering with need.  
  
"Tony..." chaos groaned, his eyes glassy. "I want..."  
  
Tony lifted a hand to caress his new lover's face. Then gave him what he wanted. chaos broke into gasping, sobbing sounds as his taunt body trembled uncontrollably.   
  
The lovely sounds chaos was making were too much, and within moments, Tony was seeing stars. Pulling away from chaos, he managed to encourage the exhausted boy to lift himself from the console and onto his lap.  
  
Warm and sated, Tony just wanted to take chaos back to bed and fall asleep with him in his arms. He had a feeling Hammer wouldn't be shocked. The way the navigator had been acting earlier, he had little doubt he'd been in on it. But even so, Tony wasn't ready to come out with his feelings. Not yet.   
  
chaos' skin hummed against his with the now familiar whispery aura. Now that his head was clearer, he wondered again what that sensation could be. Matthews' warnings about chaos' humanity came back to him, but Tony mentally shoved them aside. No, that had to be nonsense. Besides, Realian skin wasn't like that. At least the girls weren't. He'd never tried anything with a male Realian, but he didn't think there would be that big a difference. And with those blue eyes, he certainly couldn't be a Realian anyway. At the most, maybe he was uberhuman. Even if he was, Tony couldn't believe chaos could be dangerous. Hammer was more trouble.  
  
His legs folded up against his chest, chaos leaned heavily into Tony, his head against his chest. He seemed ready to fall asleep right there.   
  
Keeping him close in his arms, Tony let his head fall back against the seat. Stroking silvery hair, he fought to keep his eyes open. He could just imagine the various reactions from Hammer and Matthews if they were still there in the morning. Whether Matthews approved or not, he couldn't let him know. It was a long standing agreement that Tony couldn't bring girlfriends aboard. A boyfriend probably wouldn't be any better in the captain's opinion.  
  
As their ragged breathing slowed, chaos finally lifted his head, regarding him with drowsy eyes. A tiny, satisfied smile was on his lips.   
  
Cupping the side of chaos' face, he kissed him deeply. The heat and the tingling aura flared anew. chaos' soft whimpers of pleasure stirred Tony's arousal to life once more, and he knew the night was not over yet.  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

From the Abyss   
by Moonstone 04  
***  
  
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. ^_^ Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ^^; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].  
  
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.  
  
***  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
  
"Sooo... How'd it go?"  
  
Tony grunted something incoherent as he tried to focus on the diagnostic tablet. He had spent the last few hours cleaning the big mess he and chaos had made all over the pilot's console. There was still something wrong with it, and he couldn't figure out what. The console was sealed against moisture, and there was no way anything they had done could have crashed the controls this badly.   
  
"Don't play dumb with me..." Hammer smirked. "You've been up all night, haven't you? chaos is still out like a light. Have fun?"  
  
"If you tell Matthews, I'll kill you."  
  
"I'm not gonna tell 'im." Hammer leaned back against the bridge railing. "If he finds out you and chaos are joined at the hip, he might kick the guy off before we even reach the dock colony."  
  
"Exactly." Tony mumbled.  
  
"So you don't deny it!" Hammer grinned.  
  
"Damn it, why don't you get laid and stay out of my business?" Tony rubbed his eyes.  
  
"I'm not into guys... And I have to say, I still can't believe you are, I mean..."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Tony didn't want to talk about it. If Matthews came in... "Look man, this doesn't change anything. We've still got to convince the captain that chaos is crew worthy."  
  
Hammer nodded. "With as quickly as he catches on, I think we might have a chance. The only problem is the captain's stubborn streak."  
  
"Right," Tony sighed heavily. He frowned at his tablet. "By the way Hammer, what exactly was it you were helping chaos with yesterday?"  
  
"Well, he wanted to talk to me about his feelings, and it didn't take much digging to find out he was talking about you. I told him he should try talking to you, but he said he didn't know how to express himself." Hammer shrugged. "Honestly though, what do I know about gay relationships?"  
  
Tony narrowed his eyes. "Then what was he doing all that time...?"  
  
"I just found him some gay porn on the U.M.N., and let him figure it out for himself. I guess that was good enou-oww!" He rubbed his arm where Tony had punched him.   
  
"You idiot! What were you thinking!?" Tony yelled. "He comes to you for help and you show him porn!?"  
  
"Sheesh, everything worked out, didn't it?" Hammer frowned, pushing up his glasses. "Talk about ungrateful. Besides, you shoulda seen the way he was glued to the terminal. He was really gettin' into it." He giggled in a really annoying way.  
  
"Damn it, next time he comes to you with a question like that, send him to me." Tony growled and pushed the diagnostic tablet into his chest. "And since it's your fault, *you* fix this!" He pushed himself up and trudged up the bridge. "I'm catching some sleep before I completely crash."  
  
"Like I said, ungrateful." Hammer snickered.  
  
***  
  
The week was nearly up, and Tony was once again running out of time. The days had flown by in a blur. In just two days, the Elsa would be fully operational.   
  
His recent memory was a flurry of stolen kisses and caresses in hidden corners. The cold reality that he might have to say goodbye to chaos was more difficult to face than ever before. Loving him desperately in the dark, he knew he would do something crazy if the worst happened.  
  
In a dark alcove in the catapult room, they were meshed together on the floor, chaos' arms and legs around him. Leaning back against cold metal, Tony could only marvel at the feel of chaos moving on him. Panting roughly, chaos' head was thrown back, rivulets of sweat trailing down his glistening skin. Tony ran his fingers down his tense back, feeling his lover's electric aura simmer around them.  
  
"Tony, c'mon..." chaos said in a breathy voice. Getting up, he pulled Tony to his feet.  
  
"Hey, we're not done yet are we?" Tony whined goodnaturedly as he let himself be led further back into the cavernous room.   
"I hope not." chaos beamed that familiar smile that seemed would always glow with innocence, no matter how many times and ways they made love. Leaning over a low railing, he smiled back at Tony. "C'mon, before I get cold."  
  
Covering his back, Tony kissed his neck.   
  
"Nnnn..." chaos moaned. "You're so nice..."  
  
"Nice?" Tony panted with amusement. "I think I can do better than that..."  
  
Yet no matter what, Tony couldn't help feeling that it wasn't enough. As if something were holding him back from something more. Like a whispered promise in chaos' warm caramel skin, that crackling sensation...   
  
Trapped in Tony's grip, chaos shook with him, arching back while loosing a throaty cry. Something white flashed before Tony's eyes as chaos clenched around him, but then it was gone.  
  
For a minute or so afterward, Tony slumped over his back, one hand over chaos' on the rail, as they slowly rocked themselves back down from their euphoria. His chest and chaos' back were stuck together with a film of sweat.   
  
After some time... "Tony?" chaos said softly. "You okay?"  
  
"Yeah." His throat was dry.   
  
"You sure?" chaos turned his head slightly.   
  
Tony eased chaos back against him. "You worry too much."  
  
When he turned around, chaos' big blue eyes met his with a pained expression. "It's me, isn't it?"  
  
"Wha- What?" Tony frowned. "chaos, I toldja, there's nothing wrong." He hugged the boy close. "Why do you think something's wrong?"  
  
chaos leaned into him, wrapping his arms around his waist. He sighed heavily. "I love you, Tony. You know I love you, right?"  
  
"chaos..."  
  
Tony held him tighter as he began to shiver. "It's okay, chaos, it's okay..." But it wasn't, and for not the first and not the last time, he didn't know why, or what to do about it. All he could ever do was comfort him.  
  
***  
  
"Aw hell... It's one thing after another." Matthews griped.  
  
"What is it this time?" Freshly showered, Tony didn't look up from the pilot's console. "The engine?"  
  
"Nope." Hammer answered. "Looks like something's up with the catapult again."  
  
"How many times has that happened this week!?" Matthews ground his knuckles into his forehead. "When we get into port, I'm going to have that entire thing overhauled."  
  
Hammer shook his head. "I've looked an' looked, and I still don't know what's going on down there. Some kinda power surge is overloading the catapult system, but I haven't found any faulty circuits yet. As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with it." He sighed. "Most likely we're looking at some other kind of interference. Damned if I know what it is though."  
  
"Like I said," Matthews threw up his hands, "I'm getting the thing overhauled. Regardless of what you can or can't find, it's still screwed up."  
  
"Captain, we can't afford an overhaul like that!" Hammer turned in his seat. "You're wasting a perfectly good mechanic! I tell you, I can fix the thing!"  
  
"I haven't seen anything fixed yet!" Matthews told him.  
  
chaos walked onto the bridge while Matthews and Hammer were still arguing. He blinked owlishly at them, then turned to smile at Tony. Deciding to let the captain and the navigator handle the problem, he led chaos back out.  
  
Outside the bridge, he pulled chaos close and kissed him tenderly. "You feeling better?" Tony whispered, smoothing silky silver hair behind his lover's ear.  
  
chaos nodded. "What's going on?"  
  
"Oh, just the ship going wonky again. I guess even Hammer can't maintain everything all of the time. That should just go to show the Captain that we need another hand on this ship." He nuzzled chaos' neck, giving a tiny flick of his tongue.  
  
"O-Oh." chaos closed his eyes with a expression of pleasure.  
  
"Everything's going to turn out okay, you'll see." Tony whispered soothingly, molding his body to chaos' slowly grinding against him. The other boy was nearly limp in his arms, his head thrown back as Tony nipped at his neck. "And when we get to port, I'll finally get you off this ship and show you a *real* good time."  
  
"I'm looking forward to that..." chaos breathed. Running his hands down Tony's back, he squeezed his bottom.  
  
Surprised, Tony's breath caught. Opening his eyes, chaos chuckled thickly with amusement. Just then, the bridge door opened, and they froze.  
  
"Hey, get a room, some of us are still working." Hammer grumbled as he passed.  
  
"I guess his talk with the Captain didn't go so well." chaos said, pulling back from Tony as he watched Hammer disappear into the living area.   
  
"He's just being a grouch." Tony scowled, rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
"You don't think he would tell the captain, do you?"  
  
"Nah, he's a lot of things, but Hammer's no rat." Tony kissed his cheek. "Just relax. I promise, everything will turn out fine."  
  
***  
  
BAM!  
  
The force of impact reverberated through into the next room. Tony could hear it as soon as he came into the area. At least it made him easy to find.  
  
BAM!  
  
Tony smiled to himself as he headed down the steps.  
  
BAM!  
  
At first, Hammer would play with him, but not anymore. Not since chaos had almost taken his head off by accident. They hadn't told the captain about it.  
  
BAM!  
  
Entering the catapult room was risky under these circumstances. Tony was in time to see chaos toss up a heavily battered volleyball and serve it hard against the dent-covered bulkhead.   
  
BAM!  
  
The ball ricocheted like a bullet. With graceful ease, chaos leapt and caught it from the air. When he noticed he was not alone, he turned away from his game.  
  
"We'll be there soon." Tony told him. "I think we should talk to him now."  
  
chaos stared contemplatively at the volleyball for a short pause. He spun it slowly between his hands. "No. Let's wait until we arrive. I... I just need a little more time." He stopped the ball.  
  
"I don't think it'll make much difference, but if that's what you want..." The waiting made Tony uneasy. He wanted to get it over with. There was a good chance they could convince Matthews. chaos had made progress neither he or Hammer could have imagined. But it was still likely that the captain wouldn't budge on his decision. And if that happened...  
  
"Tony, there's only four of us on board, right?"  
  
"Huh?" Tony blinked in surprise as he was jolted out of his thoughts. "Yeah, it's just the four of us. There used to be others, but well, you know about what happened with Hammer."  
  
chaos frowned slightly, but the expression quickly disappeared as he looked up. It was replaced with an bashful smile. "Oh, yeah, I remember."  
  
"You sure can be absentminded." Tony sighed.  
  
"Mmm..." chaos' smile wavered for a moment. Then his face lit up as he held up the volleyball. "Hey, wanna play? There isn't much sport to just serving to a wall."  
  
"Do I look like I have a death wish!?"  
  
***  
  
For the first time in over a year, the Elsa finally saw blue sky. Even if it was artificial, the Dock Colony was a welcome change. Or at least it would have been if Tony hadn't been so nervous. He was prepared for the worst. But of all the things Tony predicted that could go wrong, what happened next was the last thing he expected.  
  
Wind tugged at Tony's hair as he ran out along the Elsa's docking. Matthews and Hammer were standing on the hull, busy unloading cargo. Tony had to wave his arms around to get their attention.   
  
"Matthews!" He had to yell at the top of his lungs to be heard over the squealing of old machinery. "Where's chaos!? I can't find him anywhere!"  
  
"How the hell should I know!?" Matthews yelled back. "Can't you see I'm busy!?"  
  
"Damn it, don't brush me off! What did you do with him!?"  
  
"Tony, stop actin' like a moron and make yourself useful! I don't have time for this! The kid's probably taken off, had a feelin' he might! Just leave it alone, this saves us a whole lotta trouble!"  
  
"Taken off!?" Tony couldn't believe it.   
  
"Captain, we can't just let chaos wander around the colony by himself!" Hammer yelled. "It's dangerous! You know how he is...! Who knows what'll happen to him!"  
  
"I'm tellin' you two, leave it!" Matthews snapped.   
  
With a growl, Tony tore off up the dock, barely hearing Hammer yelling after him.  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

From the Abyss   
by Moonstone 04  
***  
  
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. ^_^ Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ^^; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].  
  
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.  
  
***  
  
  
Chapter Five  
  
  
It didn't help Tony's peace of mind that the colony looked like a warzone. Of course, this only helped to remind him that not long ago, it had been. The strife of Miltia had other explosive pockets, and this colony had been one of them. He was aware that there had once been many realians there, but he had yet to see one since arriving.  
  
The streets were burned black. Most people were working and living out of make-shifts slapped together out of scraps. The side of one small shop was a studded, steel sheet that had once been a large road sign. Just about everything was held together with duct tape. Dark stains trailed everywhere, which could have been either blood or oil. The air was choked with the mingling of metallic, fuel, and human waste. Deeper in, Tony almost gagged as the air became tastable. But he continued past the empty stares into the dark depths of the colony.  
  
"chaos!" His calls echoed through the narrow streets. "chaos!"  
  
A lone woman shook her head as she passed him with her head down. No doubt she thought he was just another madman screaming in the streets. There was another woman wailing not too far away. Tony swore under his breath.  
  
"CHAOS!"  
  
He couldn't understand why chaos wasn't answering. He couldn't believe chaos had run away. After everything... Why was this happening?  
  
Then he saw something from the corner of his eye. Something out of place in the gloom. Down a half-obstructed alleyway, a patch of bright orange moved. Hope quickened his pulse as he came closer. There were distressed mutterings coming from the alleyway, and though he couldn't yet make out what was being said, he immediately recognized the voice. Tony hurried over the collasped wall, sending more of it crumbling to the ground.  
  
"chaos! Are you okay!?"  
  
"Leave me alone... Leave me alone..." chaos whimpered.   
  
Winding his way through the shadows, Tony knelt by his small shaking form. chaos was sitting on the ground, curled up with his arms over his head, hiding his face in his knees. He was sobbing in ragged breaths, as if he had been running.  
  
"What's wrong?" Tony asked quietly, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders. "C'mon, you know you can talk to me. chaos..."  
  
At Tony's touch, chaos twitched, and raised his head. "T-Tony..." His eyes were wide and nervous, staring all around before resting on Tony's face. "Are you really here? Are you alone?" He swallowed loudly.  
  
"Yeah man..." Tony nodded. "So are you okay?"  
  
chaos wrapped his arms around his legs and pulled them closer to his chest. "I'm not hurt, if that's what you mean. What are you doing here?"  
  
"What am I...!?" Tony spluttered. "I came looking for you! What do you think yer doing running around out here? It's dangerous!"  
  
There was a stretch of silence. chaos lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry, Tony. But I know the plan won't work. You know the captain better than I do, you know what he'll say. And I know what you'll do... So I had to run away." He shuddered. "But she followed me... Wouldn't leave me alone..."   
  
"Who wouldn't leave you alone?" Tony frowned.   
  
chaos shook his head. "Go back to the Elsa. That's your home, that's where you belong. If you make me go back with you, I'll just run away again."  
  
"Alright, then I won't make you go back."   
  
"Uh?" chaos looked up in surprise. He obviously hadn't expected Tony to agree so readily. There was a hint of hurt in his eyes.  
  
"I'm just going to have to stay out here with you. And if you try to run away, I'll just come after you again. Because I'm not abandoning you, and I'm not letting you abandon me." Tony took in the filthy graffiti-covered wall before them. "By the way, nice place you have here."  
  
***  
  
The small hotel room was stuffy. Dreary grey light barely filtered through cracks in the grimy windowpanes. It was a miserable little place, a far cry from where he had once fantasized taking chaos, but it was the best Tony could find in the area.   
  
In the gloom, chaos was merely a black shadow sitting on the only bed in the room. Only the silver gleam of his hair seemed impervious to the darkness. However, Tony's familiar compulsion to touch it was squashed by the weight of worry in his chest.  
  
"You've done so much for me." chaos said quietly. "But how do you know the captain isn't right? Even I can't..." His voice wavered. "You don't know anything."  
  
Tony had never heard chaos sound so bitter. He almost didn't sound like himself.   
  
"Maybe I don't." Tony moved away from the wall. "But I know how I feel. I admit I'm impulsive, but I'm willing to accept any consequences of that. chaos, just have some faith in me."  
  
"I do." chaos lifted his head, and two blue eyes opened, shining with their unnatural light. "It's myself I don't trust."  
  
"I trust you."  
  
chaos said nothing. His eyes glimmered with emotion, then shut tightly. Tony only stood and watched while the other boy's hands clenched the blankets beneath him.  
  
"And not just me." Tony spoke again after a few moments of silence. "Hammer trusts you too. That's why he's been working with you so hard. Even if you really didn't need the help. We're going to make this work, no matter what the captain says."  
  
When chaos still said nothing, Tony moved to sit beside him. "This really isn't like you, y'know. Are you sure this is just about the captain's decision? You said someone was following you... They didn't hurt you, did they?"  
  
chaos shook his head gently.   
  
"Can you at least tell me who was following you?"  
  
"A little girl."  
  
Tony blinked in surprise. "You were all freaked out because a little girl was following you!? Why?"  
  
"She was talking. She never talked before."  
  
"Before?" Tony frowned. "What do you mean? What was she saying?"  
  
"I don't know."   
  
"Then what was the big deal?"  
  
"Tony, I don't want to talk about it." chaos turned away and laid across the bed. "Please, I just... I'm tired."  
  
chaos was shutting him out again. It was something that had always been there as long as he had known him, a thin, almost imperceivable barrier. No matter how close they were, chaos never let his defenses down, whether he was aware he was doing it or not. But now more than ever, Tony could feel the distance between them.  
  
With a sigh, he stood and peeled his clothes away. He could feel chaos' eyes on him, taking in every detail. But when he turned around, the sapphire eyes were closed. The bed creaked as he moved behind him, lying on his side. Slowly he undressed chaos, trying to disturb him as little as possible.  
  
With no more physical barriers between them, Tony held him close. Sighing, chaos nestled back into his embrace. Lovingly caressing his lover's firm, velvety stomach, Tony realized that at last he could sleep with him in his arms, the way he had longed to. But now he didn't dare. He was afraid if he did, he might wake up to find chaos gone forever. For as long as he could, he would keep his angel in his arms.  
  
Before too long, chaos fell asleep. Tony kissed his shoulder, then rested his face against silken, silvery hair. "I love you." He whispered.  
  
***  
  
When Tony woke up, panic flooded him. He hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep. But finding chaos' warm body still cradled against him, he gave a sigh of relief. Yet, something had woken him, he was sure of it.   
  
Had there been a noise...? It felt like someone had called out, but chaos was fast asleep, and everything was silent. Just when he decided it must have been his imagination, a loud crashing came from downstairs.  
  
Tony sat up. Someone started to scream, then there was nothing. More loud noises came, like something huge was stomping through the building. Whatever it was, it sounded like it was demolishing the place... Tony could feel the entire room shuddering. Something was very wrong.  
  
Now people outside were shouting and screaming. Tony shook chaos. "Hey... Get up, I think we're gonna have to leave early."  
  
chaos' bleary eyes focused quickly at the sound of a gunshot. "Tony...? What's...?"   
  
"Hurry up and get dressed." Tony was already pulling his clothes back on. "I think the fighting might've started up again. We've got to get out of here while we can."  
  
Rather than face whatever the hell was gradually thumping its way upstairs, Tony forced the windows open. Outside was a rickety, old fire escape. It didn't look very inviting, but he couldn't see any other option.  
  
"Wait, that doesn't look very safe." chaos had finished dressing and peered outside.   
  
"I don't think it's any safer beyond that door." Tony said, and climbed out.  
  
With a squeal, the fire escape buckled and collapsed under his weight. Barely turning back in time, Tony snagged the windowsil. chaos grabbed him by the arms and helped pull him back in. Once back inside, they looked down at the dark twisted mass of metal that had been the fire escape. Tony smiled weakly at chaos' reproving frown.  
  
"It was worth a try."  
  
There was no other choice but to make their way downstairs. The noise had faded a little, but that didn't ease Tony's nerves any. With chaos squeezing close behind, he slowly opened the door to have a peek into the hallway.  
  
The long narrow hallway was thick with dust and darkness. Only one lone light remained towards the end of the hall, its meager light barely giving shape to the shadows. There was a glittering strewn throughout the hallway, and Tony realized much of it was shattered glass.   
  
As they stepped out, the glass crunched beneath their feet. Beside him, he heard chaos draw a sharp breath. As his eyes adjusted, he could see why.  
  
At the far end of the hall, something big was emerging from a doorway. It had a vague human shape, but it was just too massive, and it didn't seem to have any hands or feet. The head was just a tiny round thing between its shoulders. Whatever it was, Tony knew he didn't want to get a better look. But it was standing between them and the exit.  
  
With a loud bang, another door opened into the hallway, and someone stepped out. "What the-" Whoever it was didn't get a chance to finish whatever he was saying. The big thing had seen him, and with an inhuman bellow, charged towards him, sending him flying back into his room. The thing crashed in after him, breaking part of the doorframe as he went. Then the man was screaming.  
  
Seeing their chance, Tony grabbed chaos' hand, and bolted for the end of the hall.   
  
"T-Tony, he's-!" chaos protested, but Tony pulled him along. There was no time to argue. If that monster was what he suspected it was, they had to get out of there.  
  
Making their way down to the first floor of the hotel, they were lucky enough not to run into anything else. Strangely, there was a powdery white substance covering the floor in several places. It crunched and swirled into the air as they fled past.  
  
The front doors of the hotel were splinters on ground. Outside, it was dark and still. But the random gunfire and shouting that echoed down the streets warned of the danger lurking unseen.  
  
After running a block, Tony ducked them into a dark alcove of a half collapsed building. He held chaos close as he tried to calm down and get his bearings. He couldn't afford to take a wrong turn. Not now...  
  
"Tony, what was that thing... That man was in trouble, why didn't we help him!?" chaos panted. He was trembling violently.  
  
"I think it was...gnosis." Tony answered in-between breaths. "The ghosts of Miltia." He frowned out into the street, fearing one might pop up at any moment. "We couldn't have helped that guy in the hotel, chaos, there's no way of fighting these things. We have to get back to the Elsa and get the hell out of here."  
  
"G-gnosis..." chaos said in a whisper.  
  
"C'mon..." Tony pulled him up and started running again.  
  
Gnosis. The word summoned every creepy story Hammer had told him in the dark, lying alone in their bunks. And chaos knew them as well as he did. The ghostly monsters that had been born from the horrors of Miltia. They could appear anywhere and float through any surface, making it impossible to escape them. And there was no way to fight back against the transparent phantoms. Anyone who tried, was turned to salt. Tony remembered the white powder scattered throughout the hotel, and felt his stomach clench.   
  
From shadow to shadow, they hurried through the streets. And they weren't alone. Panicking people were running everywhere, trying to find a place to hide. Strange and inhuman bellows and roars tore through the air, but Tony was yet to see another gnosis. He was beginning to wonder if gnosis were invisible. Maybe he wouldn't be able to see them until they were right on top of them. These paranoid thoughts eating at his nerves, his blood was jumping at every odd shape and sudden movement.  
  
chaos was threatening to break his hand. It almost made him stop a few times, but Tony knew broken bones could be fixed. If a gnosis caught them, there wouldn't be the chance to complain about it later. There wasn't any time to think about it, but chaos' hand was also getting uncomfortably warm. And aside from the pain of his hand being crushed, for some reason it felt like it was being stung over and over by a swarm of insects. After a while, the stinging made his hand go numb.  
  
As they neared the docks, Tony was beginning to think they'd be lucky enough to make it without running into any gnosis. Of course, he should have known his luck couldn't hold out that long. Reaching the docks, they came to a dead halt.  
  
Directly in their path, was a blood-red gnosis with long, clawed arms. They were just in time to see it grab an unfortunate dockworker by the head. The man's horrific cries rose with Tony's as he felt the bones in his hand crack.  
  
chaos let go as the gnosis turned around, lifting the hysterical man into the air. The thing took a step towards them, into one of the dockside floodlights. They could see the man turning white, as if all the color in his body were being sucked into the gnosis' hand. With a gruesome click of its cruel claws, the whitened body shattered into powder. There was nothing left of the man but a pile of salt.  
  
Tony thought he was paralyzed as the thing moved closer. It didn't seem to have skin. The surface of the gnosis was constantly in motion, the bright, rich red flowing, then congealing, then flowing again, like blood. But it wasn't blood, it was light...  
  
It really *was* a ghost.   
  
"Tony..." chaos moaned. He was gripping his tanktop now.  
  
As the cold reality of the situation began to stir him to life, Tony backed into a bunch of empty trashcans. Feeling the cold steel under his hands, he picked one up and heaved it at the monster. It passed right through the transparent creature, rolling away towards the shipyard.  
  
Beginning to panic, Tony threw another one. This time, the creature hit it away with one sweep of its massive arm. The heavily damaged trashcan fell to the ground and skidded away. Nothing touched it, but it could touch them.  
  
And if it touched them, they would die.  
  
Running back into the colony was out of the question. The Elsa was their only escape from this nightmare. The only way out. What was he gonna do!?  
  
"Tony!"  
  
Before he knew what was happening, chaos was shoving him aside. Tony landed on the pavement so hard, he had the wind knocked out of him. Gasping for breath, he couldn't give voice to the cry that tore soundlessly from him as he saw the gnosis swing its arm towards his small lover. No!  
  
His eyes wild with fear, chaos fell backwards, striking back blindly in his panic. Tony saw his arm arc into the air, and then there was a flash of light so intense that he had to wince away. An enraged roar shook the air.  
  
Tony opened his eyes again to see the gnosis backing away uncertainly. Its arm was...bleeding? No, more like it was melting. What the hell had happened to it? On the ground, chaos had landed hard. From the dazed look, Tony feared he might have cracked his head open. He pushed himself up and hurried to his side.  
  
"chaos? Are you okay?"  
  
"U-Uh...?" chaos tried to focus on his face.   
  
It wasn't the most encouraging sign, but there was no time to be gentle. Putting his arm around him, he forced chaos to his feet. The silver-haired boy whimpered and swayed against him. At the sound, the gnosis made a low growling noise.  
  
Something had spooked the gnosis, and Tony wasn't going to waste the short moments it bought them. Pulling chaos along, he ran down the newly cleared path towards the Elsa. He could see it, the soft hull-lights beckoning them home.  
  
"Tony! chaos!"   
  
Ahead, Captain Matthews and Hammer were running towards them.   
  
"Captain!" Tony shouted back. "We've gotta get outta here!"  
  
"Yeah, we've heard!" Hammer looked terrified out of his mind.  
  
"At least you two are alright." The Captain looked between them. "What's wrong with chaos? He doesn't look so hot."  
  
"We ran into a gnosis on the way up here." Tony explained. "He took a bit of a fall, but I think he'll be okay. We've gotta take off while we still can."  
  
"A gnosis!?" Hammer squeaked. "How'd you guys get away from a gnosis!?"  
  
"Never mind that!" The Captain snapped. "Talk later, let's get back to the ship."  
  
***  
  
In the hurry to leave, there was no time to take chaos into the cabin. The crew headed straight for the bridge. Tony carefully placed chaos in the engineer's seat. He looked sick, and didn't seem to be focusing well.  
  
"chaos? Just try to keep yourself together here, okay?" He said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
  
chaos turned towards his voice, and focused. The blank look on his face was odd and unsettling. It was as if chaos were seeing him for the first time.   
  
"chaos?" Tony said worriedly.  
  
Looking down at his hands on the console, something like panic came into chaos' eyes. Leaning over them, he began to tremble. "Why..."  
  
"Tony!" The Captain barked. "Get going! You may wanna die here, but I don't! See to him after we've gotten clear of this hellhole."  
  
"Aye." Tony gritted his response reluctantly.  
  
Taking his place at the pilot's seat, Tony quickly began the process of disengaging the Elsa from the dock. Soon they were free to fly.  
  
"Captain, we don't have clearance," Hammer said. "I can't contact-"  
  
"Never mind that." Captain Matthews waved a hand impatiently. "Can't you see it's a warzone out there? Tony, just floor it!"  
  
"Right!" Oh yeah. An excitement that had nothing to do with fear rushed through him. The colony airspace was in complete chaos. They weren't the only ones trying to get out, and there were too many ships flying around.  
  
Not too far in front of them, a small ship crashed into another, followed by both ships exploding into a massive fireball. They were bathed in a firey glow as it went careening into the colony.  
  
Time to go.  
  
The Elsa roared to life. Other ships were streaks flying past as they sped into the reckless confusion. Darting to and fro, Tony guided the Elsa through. Never had he manuevered through anything like this. The combined intensity of fear and excitement was incredible, driving him faster. The ship was beginning to shake.  
  
"We're going too fast, you maniac!" Hammer shouted behind him. "We're gonna die!"  
  
"I know what I'm doing!" Tony yelled back.   
  
"Both of you shut up or we'll be scrapped!" Matthews could barely be heard above the rising noise as the Elsa was pushed as hard as Tony could take it.  
  
"Oh yeah, let's show these chickens what we've got!" Tony could see an airlock ahead. Rolling to the right to avoid another ship, a shocking impact came from the back.  
  
Matthews was muttering something, but the engine noise was too loud to hear him.  
  
Whizzing past the remaining ships and into the airlock, Tony gave a triumphant shout. The worst was over. He pulled the Elsa into a slow turn, easing them towards the outer airlocks. Putting a hand through his ruffled hair, he ventured a look back at his crewmates. "Everyone still back there?"  
  
"You're completely insane, but we're still alive." Hammer said from somewhere behind his console. It sounded like he was ready to be sick.  
  
"We made it, that's the important thing." Captain Matthews wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "Good work Tony, now let's get out of here."  
  
"Aye, captain." Before turning back around, he glanced back at chaos. The silver-haired boy had his head down on the console, resting on his arms. He was still shaking slightly, but seemed to be holding up otherwise.   
  
Whatever was wrong still had to wait. Tony turned back around in his seat.   
  
A big, ugly gnosis was leering at him through the glass. With a terrified shriek, Tony leapt back from the controls, scrambling back over the top of his seat. The Elsa pitched and collided with the airlock wall. The impact sent him sprawling out onto the left aisle. He wasted no time getting back to his feet.  
  
"Tony! What in the-!?" Matthews stopped, seeing the red demon-like creature floating through the glass and onto the bridge. "Oh shit."  
  
"Is that- Is that-!?" Hammer jumped from his seat and cowered behind Matthews.   
  
"Damned gnosis!" Matthews growled. "On my ship!"  
  
Tony had gone to chaos' side, and was shaking his shoulder. "chaos, get up!" He didn't know where they could go now, but he couldn't leave chaos behind.  
  
Instead of responding, chaos only shook his head and retreated deeper into his folded arms. "No... No..." He cried softly.  
  
"chaos..."  
  
"What do we do?" Hammer whimpered.  
  
"Get back!" Matthews opened a compartment at the back of his chair, and pulled out a small cube-like object. "I'm gonna try driving it out."   
  
Tony couldn't see exactly what it was or what the Captain was doing. Before he could get a better look, the object was flung through the air. It landed with a clatter below the floating gnosis. Then it sparked to life.  
  
A shock of light from the object made Tony flinch. Streamers of electrical energy whipped around the gnosis. The gnosis' screech was a chilling, unholy sound. It seemed to be trapped by the energy, held there by the flickering fingers of light.  
  
"You did it!" Hammer cheered. "Way to go, Captain!"  
  
"Thought that might come in handy." Matthews said. "But now how do we get rid of it? If we stick around too long, more of 'em will show up."  
  
"If we could move it a little, we could blow it out the Elsa's side airlock." Tony suggested. Hammer nodded enthusiastically.  
  
"Yeah! I know-"  
  
The gnosis roared. The energy surrounding it crackled about wildly, causing a stray thread of electricity to hit the navigation console. The power surge danced over the controls, then raced up the side of the bridge bulkhead. They all cringed at the sound of a dull explosion. With a thunk noise, the bridge lights went out.  
  
The only light came from the faint reddish emergency lights. And Tony realized that the gnosis trap was no longer working. A low, eerie growl cut through the silence.  
  
Glowing a deathly red, the gnosis floated closer, its bone-thin, clawed arms raised in the air. Tony gripped chaos' vest. "Get up! Get up!" He couldn't budge him.  
  
"The door won't open!" Hammer cried.  
  
Matthews kicked it hard. "The power to the door must've been cut off with the lights! Damn it! Help me pry it open! Tony! chaos!"  
  
The gnosis pointed a long boney talon towards Tony. Suddenly a burst of white blasted him off his feet, slamming him all the way back against the bridge door. The impact jarred him to his bones. Cold...it was so cold.  
  
"Tony!" Hammer yelped.  
  
Shivering, Tony was stuck to the door. His whole body ached with an icy chill. He could feel Matthews and Hammer trying to help him, but his ears were ringing, muffling their voices. With much effort, he opened his frosted eyelashes.   
  
chaos was standing with his back to them. Facing the gnosis.  
  
"ch...ch..." Tony struggled to move. What was chaos doing!?  
  
The Captain and Hammer shouted as the monster swung a clawed arm down on chaos. Without moving, chaos raised his own arm and simply knocked it aside. A visible trail of blue lightning flared in the wake of chaos' arm, then faded.  
  
Even though the ringing in his ears was subsiding, the earlier commotion had gone dead silent. Tony wondered if he was losing his senses.   
  
"What in the..." Matthews gasped under his breath.  
  
In the cold darkness, it was easy to see the light coming from chaos. Tiny, glowing, gold sparks floated from his hands. Was this... Was this real?  
  
Again, the gnosis lashed out at chaos, with a hollow growling noise.  
  
Static crackled fiercely like a tear in space as chaos knocked the gnosis aside once again. Faint threads of static crawled up and down chaos' arm, then faded back into the gentle gold sparks.  
  
Tony stared in helpless wonder. Was this what he had felt coming from chaos all along? The feathery aura...the whispers in his skin? Was this what it truly looked like? This strange power...? What was chaos...what could stand against a gnosis?  
  
The gnosis paused. Both of its arms had been dissolved away. How this had happened, Tony couldn't see. Whatever the cause, the gnosis was enraged, gnashing its nasty teeth repeatedly with a loud clacking. Then, it charged headlong at chaos.  
  
"NO!" Tony forced his throat to work.   
  
An odd tone reverberated through the air. Not so much a sound as a sensation. It felt like an wave of energy washing over them, expanding like a bubble. chaos had his hands crossed in front of his face, as if he were trying to defend himself. But the gnosis was no longer moving. It had frozen in mid-lunge.  
  
Had time stopped? Tony wasn't sure what else it could be. Except that it made no sense. But what did anymore? chaos slowly lowered his hands. As he did, the strange wave of energy fell away, drawing back into the silver-haired boy.  
  
Only the gnosis remained still. chaos' head tilted slightly in a sympathetic way. He reached out and placed his hand on what looked like the gnosis' shoulder. Bizarrely enough, it seemed like he was trying to comfort the monster.  
  
"chaos..." Tony croaked, trying to pull him back from whatever was happening.  
  
Hearing him, chaos lifted his head, but did not turn around. Suddenly, a green light began to spread from beneath his hand. The light rippled away from chaos' touch, slowly dissolving the gnosis. When the light disappeared, the gnosis was gone, and chaos stood alone with his hand in the air.  
  
"It... What did he..." Hammer whispered.  
  
Lowering his arm, chaos stood silent for a moment.   
  
"More will come. We'd better get away from here before that happens." chaos returned to the engineer's seat. His fingers flew across the console.   
  
Suddenly, the lights came to life.  
  
"Y-yeah." Matthews nodded numbly. "Tony, you okay?"  
  
"Sure." He was beat up, but he'd experienced worse.  
  
"Well you heard chaos, let's move out!"  
  
***  
  
No one questioned what had happened while the Elsa escaped the colony and fled into deep space once more. Everyone, including chaos himself, seem to be too deep in shock to question how they were still alive. And perhaps just a touch afraid.  
  
By the time the Elsa was far enough away to be safe, allowing Tony to leave his post, chaos had left the bridge. The pilot felt like hell chilled over, but he needed to talk to chaos. As he trudged towards the bridge doors, Matthews stopped him.  
  
"Hold on, where do ya think you're going?" The Captain stood between him and the door.   
  
"I'm going to check on chaos."  
  
"Did you see what he did!?" Hammer turned around in his seat. "He fried a gnosis! What... What if he decides to do the same to us!?"  
  
Tony shook his head. "chaos wouldn't do that. I know he wouldn't. I'll be okay."  
  
"Just be careful." Matthews sighed and tugged at his hat brim. "I knew there was something funny about him, but...man." His eyes turned fierce as he looked between them. "Neither of you tell anyone about this, you got it!?"  
  
"S-Sure..." Hammer stuttered in surprise.  
  
Tony just nodded.  
  
"Right." Matthews said. "If this gets out, we could find ourselves with even more trouble than we already have." He shook his head. "Not that we're ever able to avoid trouble..." He shot a look to Hammer, then Tony.  
  
"What do you think he is, anyway?" Hammer asked.  
  
"Whatever he is, we're probably better off not knowing." Matthews said, sitting back down in his chair. "And probably safer not asking. I sure as hell don't want to get on his bad side. Don't bother him about it. If he feels like tellin' us, he'll tell us. Prying into things just stirs up problems... You shoulda learned that by now." He directed this last part towards Hammer, who made a face.  
  
"I'm gonna make sure he's alright." Tony told them, and left the bridge.   
  
Tony had known the captain long enough to recognize when the wheels in his head were turning. Usually ending them stuck in some crazy scheme. But this time, he knew the captain was seeing the obvious advantage of having a crew member that could dispatch gnosis. It seemed the problem of keeping chaos onboard was solved. Only a day before, this would have been a cause for celebration.  
  
Now he wondered if chaos still wanted anything to do with him. He remembered the blank look chaos had given him, and wondered if chaos was even his chaos anymore. It had felt like another person, a stranger staring back at him. Was victory worth that price? With a slight feeling of dread, Tony entered their cabin.  
  
Sitting on the unclaimed bunk beneath Hammer's, was chaos. He didn't look up as Tony walked over, his eyes on the gloves he was pulling on. With sharp tugs, he was fitting them tightly. They were the matching gloves to Tony's old outfit. Originally, chaos hadn't been very interested in wearing them. Later, he had said he didn't like them because he liked the feel of things beneath his fingers. Why was he putting them on now?  
  
"Are you okay?" chaos asked softly.  
  
"I'll be fine. How about you?"  
  
chaos gave a noncommittal head movement.  
  
Tony paused, then, "chaos, what happened?"  
  
Finally lifting his head, chaos turned to look at him. The cold feeling came back into Tony's gut. The eyes were still like before. Studying him with a clinical expression. However, strange as they were, they were not unkind. After a moment, chaos smiled gently, a deeply sad smile.  
  



	6. Chapter 6

From the Abyss   
by Moonstone 04  
***  
  
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. ^_^ Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ^^; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].  
  
I thought this would be the final chapter, but I was wrong. There'll be one more chapter after this one. Took longer than I thought. ^^;  
  
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.  
  
***  
  
Chapter Six  
  
While the UMN broadcasts buzzed about gnosis attacks, life aboard the Elsa became quieter than usual. Looking to make distance between themselves and the gnosis, Captain Matthews set them on course towards a faraway star system. He spent much of his time in his cabin, planning the agenda of the long-term journey. Hammer had made a nervous habit out of checking on the status of the surrounding space as well as UMN broadcasts. When he wasn't at the helm, Tony found himself aimlessly wandering the empty depths of the Elsa.  
  
In the days since fleeing the Dock Colony disaster, chaos had barely stepped out of the crew quarters. He slept all day and most of the night. When he awoke during the night, he would wander outside, but Tony could never find where he went. It was useless to try waking him during the day, chaos was the soundest sleeper Tony had ever seen.  
  
"He's some kind of space vampire! It's the only explanation that makes sense!"  
  
"Hammer, if he was a vampire, wouldn't he have tried to suck our blood? Isn't that how it works in those old movies?" Tony frowned. "C'mon, he doesn't have fangs or turn into a bat! And he eats those frozen pizzas, if he was a vampire, he'd be allergic to the garlic. Crash and burn another theory, Hammer."  
  
"How would you know, you've never met a real vampire!"  
  
"Neither have you!"  
  
"Let's find a mirror and see if he has a reflection!"  
  
"If you get near him with this stupid nonsense, I'll floor your ass!"  
  
"I'd like to see you try, Vamp-lover!"  
  
"Oh, that's it!" Tony raised his fist, but his wrist was grabbed from behind. He looked back to face an unamused Matthews.   
  
"Knock it off!" The Captain let go of Tony. "What did I tell you about bothering him about that?"  
  
"See?" Tony gave Hammer a triumphant smirk.  
  
"If he really is a space vampire, and he knows that we know, we could all wind up lunchmeat. Have a little sense!" Matthews growled.  
  
This time, it was Hammer who was smirking. Tony barely resisted the urge to deck the little rat, Captain or no Captain. "Yes, Sir." He gritted out.  
  
"Anyway, one of you better find some way of getting him up. We'll be making planetfall on Vlenar in a few days, and it'd be nice if we could get him to help out a little once we get there." With that, he left the hangar.  
  
"Wake up chaos?" Hammer frowned and scratched his head in thought. "What haven't we tried short of throwing him out the airlock?"  
  
Loud noises, buckets of water, picking him up and dragging him around... Nothing but nothing woke up chaos. They had even locked the bathroom during the night hoping to force him to get up during the daytime to use it. That didn't work either, somehow he seemed to get in anyway.  
  
Hammer laughed. "Maybe sleeping beauty needs a kiss from his handsome prince."   
  
"Get serious." Tony shook his head. "The only thing left is to stay up all night and not fall asleep this time. I'll do it, there's no need for both us."  
  
"Someone wants to be alooone..."   
  
"Shaddup..."   
  
***  
  
Tony was half asleep when he heard the bedsprings creak. His head jerked up from his chest. Turning towards the sleeping nook from where he had been leaning against the wall, he found himself facing chaos. The other boy didn't look very surprised to see him.  
  
"Evening, Tony."  
  
It wasn't what he had intended to do, but he couldn't help himself. Instead of saying anything, he took chaos in a tight embrace. He needed to feel the familiar warmth, something to assure him that his chaos wasn't completely lost.  
  
For a moment, he thought he felt the boy stiffen in his arms. But then the slender arms were around his back, and chaos nestled into him with a sigh. It wasn't the usual pleased sort of sigh, but Tony tried not to dwell on it.  
  
"chaos..."  
  
"We shouldn't talk here, we'll disturb Hammer."  
  
***  
  
Only distant starlight gave them illumination. Nothing had been switched on, even the familiar clatter of the bartender robot was absent. It was slumped behind the counter, its gleaming eyes staring at the floor. Sitting directly in front of it, chaos was in a similar position. Tony sat facing the windows, his elbows back on the counter. The silence was killing him.  
  
"Have you been eating lately? Don't wanna get sick, y'know."  
  
"Tony..."  
  
He turned to look at chaos, but the face beneath the silvery locks was obscured in dark shadow. "...Yeah. I know, I'm skirting around what I really wanna say. The captain told us we shouldn't pry. But damn it..."  
  
"It's okay. Perfectly understandable." chaos interrupted softly. "You deserve to know what's going on. But I'm afraid... There's nothing to tell."  
  
The silence descended again.  
  
Tony stared hard at chaos, trying to meet the eyes he couldn't see. He could almost imagine the boy flinching as he turned his gaze downwards. "Don't lie to me, chaos. This isn't like you."  
  
At this, chaos turned to look at him again, and for a moment, for some unknown reason, Tony was suddenly grateful he couldn't see his face. Then chaos looked away and seemed to shrink down in his seat. "I didn't know I could do that either. It just happened. That's the truth, Tony."  
  
With a sigh, Tony leaned forward onto his knees and let his head fall. "I'm sorry, I'm being a complete jackass. I wanted to talk, not accuse you like this."  
  
"I know. It's my fault for putting you through this. I just needed to be alone for a while. I needed time to think."  
  
"You aren't going to try leaving again, are you? The Captain wants you stay aboard. Everything's okay now... He wanted you to know before we reach our next destination."   
  
chaos seemed to nod slightly. "I'm glad. I didn't want to leave... I just wish...it had been different."  
  
"But everything's going to be okay now, right?" Tony wanted to hear some brightness in chaos' voice again. "We're all okay, right? And the others have agreed not to tell anybody about what happened. Everything's back to normal."  
  
The damned silence again.  
  
"chaos. If there's something... You can trust me." Tony turned and put a hand on his lover's shoulder. "That hasn't changed."  
  
The other boy swallowed, but didn't say anything.  
  
"Will I see you tomorrow then?" Tony asked hopefully.  
  
"I've done enough sleeping. I'll talk to the Captain tomorrow."  
  
"Terrific." Tony smiled. "You'll show the Captain what a great crewman he almost threw off his ship." He moved his hand from chaos' shoulder to caress the side of his face. Starlight cleared the shadows away as he tilted chaos' face towards him. Bright turquoise eyes closed at his touch.   
  
At the familiar unspoken invitation, Tony leaned in and kissed him. Yes...the thrill still felt the same. Electric whispers passed between their lips, and a moan escaped the silver-haired boy. Then, unexpectedly, chaos broke away, his hand over his face.   
"c-chaos?" Tony was shocked. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing." chaos breathed. "It isn't your fault. I just need a little more space... Just a while longer. Please understand."  
  
"Sure." But even if he pretended to understand, the hurt still bit at him. What had happened to chaos to change him so much? Why couldn't he confide in him whatever he was going through? For a moment there, he had felt *his* chaos again. But he was gone again. "Well, if I'm going to be awake tomorrow, I'd better be getting to bed." He stood. "Are you coming back to the cabin?"  
  
His hand still covering his face, chaos shook his head. "I think I'll stay here until everyone wakes up. Good night, Tony."  
  
For a moment, Tony stood and looked down at him. He wanted to comfort him somehow. But he was afraid of seeing chaos recoil from him again. "Good night, chaos." He said softly as he turned away.  
  
When he was at the doors, he paused briefly as he heard chaos say something under his breath. Then he continued on his way out. Tony wondered what he meant, but knew it was probably useless to ask who chaos thought he looked like.  
  
***  
  
Weeks passed. For the most part, life aboard the Elsa seemed to fall back into the usual routine. chaos had officially become the ship engineer, once proving to the Captain that he was more than capable of performing the necessary duties. Everybody laughed and acted like nothing strange had ever happened.   
  
Tony couldn't stand it. chaos seemed to be more or less his old self again, except for a lingering sadness behind his cheerful facade. Whatever was eating at him, he seemed determined to pretend it didn't exist. It was as if he were trying to bury the past. Each day passed without more than friendly acknowledgement. It was as if they had never been lovers at all.  
  
Feeling more than a little frustrated, Tony downed his drink. The Captain was supposedly seeing somebody about a job, leaving the crew free for the afternoon. chaos had suggested going out to a small cafe. Being planetside, he had wanted to enjoy the outdoors while they were there.   
  
"Some things never change." Hammer said in a sing song voice.  
  
"Oh?" chaos said.  
  
Distracted from his brooding, Tony looked up to see what they were talking about. Over at a nearby table, a group of pretty girls was whispering and looking over at them. Or rather, at him. There was a time when he would have been over there in a heartbeat, all charm and smiles. Even now, there was a part of his mind deciding which girl would go on which arm. But...  
  
"Tony has all the luck." Hammer pouted. "Hell, and I'm not even sure if he swings that way anymore. The gods are just so cruel."  
  
Daring a glance towards chaos, Tony was surprised to find the boy giving the girls an oddly contemplative look.   
  
"If they wanna say something, they can come over and say it to all of us." Tony mumbled. "I don't see what the big deal is."  
  
"Oh c'mon, you can't have changed *that* much." Hammer sighed. "Or maybe you're just that stupid."  
  
"Shaddup."  
  
"Would it really hurt to go talk to them?" chaos said quietly.  
  
"Huh?" Tony turned to stare at him.  
  
For a moment, chaos seemed to hesitate, but he awkwardly held his gaze. "You've been in a bad mood lately, you should have some fun. Go on."  
  
Tony couldn't believe his ears. "What!?"  
  
"Go see what they want." chaos smiled.  
  
What the hell was going on here!? "Do you have any idea what you're saying?" Tony nearly gritted through his teeth. How could chaos smile while he said that?  
  
"Of course I do."  
  
For a moment, Tony thought he saw chaos' eyes waver, but that damned smile seemed cemented to his face. Stop pretending, damn you! He opened his mouth, finally ready to tell it to his face, when chaos suddenly interrupted him.  
  
"GO, Tony. You know you want to." chaos said gently. "Don't worry about us. Hammer and I will be fine by ourselves. We'll meet you back at the ship."  
  
Tony stared blankly at him. Then he nodded, feeling a strange giddyness come over him. "Yeah... I guess you're right." He noticed that the smile had been wiped away from chaos' face, but it didn't seem important at the moment. It was as if chaos' smile had transplanted onto his own face. Later, guys..." Tony said as he pushed away from their table.  
  
"chaos?" Hammer sounded hushed. "You're really okay with this?"  
  
Tony didn't hear if chaos replied, by that time he was far too preoccupied with introducing himself to the babes. He didn't even notice when they left.  
  
***  
  
Only sometime after departing the planet did reality begin to seep back into Tony's senses. He sat at his post on the bridge, hunched over the controls with his head in his hands. He was beginning to wonder about his sanity.  
  
"Would you stop that?" Hammer grouched. "I don't know what you've got to be depressed about. Getting laid by a hot girl, and you're still not happy! You disgust me, y'know that!?"  
  
It wasn't only what Tony had done, but also the fact that he'd felt the need to brag to the world about it afterwards. What the hell was wrong with him!? It was like another person just like him, but without a care in the world, had been running around in his place for the past few days.  
  
The bridge door swished open.  
  
"-aren't legal."  
  
Tony cringed slightly at chaos' voice.  
  
"Don't fret the details." Captain Matthews replied, his heavy boots making his arrival obvious even if he hadn't spoken. "Hammer! I want you and chaos to look this over before we get to the colony."  
  
Turning in his seat, Tony was just in time to see Hammer's eyes nearly bulge out of his face. Even chaos was staring at the holopad in Hammer's hands with a slight dazed look. Tony was afraid to ask what the Captain was up to this time.  
  
"Captain, we can't afford an upgrade like this!" Hammer squeaked.  
  
"Hey, we're getting a steep discount, how could I turn down prices like that?" Captain Matthews said.  
  
"That's a discount!?"   
  
"It appears to be black market equipment." chaos said with a hint of disapproval. "But even so, Hammer's right, we can't afford this, Captain."  
  
"You two worry too much." Captain Matthews shook his head. "We'll just take on some extra jobs. And once we get the engine upgraded, we'll be able to make up for it in no time."  
  
chaos and Hammer both wore doubtful looks.  
  
"I don't know what you guys are talking about, but I have a bad feeling about this." Tony sighed.  
  
"Not you too," Captain Matthews grumbled. "Aw, what do you know about running a ship? Yer all a bunch of morons!"  
  
***  
  
"We really can't afford this." chaos said quietly. "Unless the Captain has some money we don't know about."  
  
Tony looked up, surprised to find chaos standing beside him. He had been alone on the dock, watching the large crates being loaded into the Elsa. Upgrading the ship was going to be a big job. He still wasn't sure what exactly was being upgraded, but it sure seemed impressive, whatever it was.   
  
"I doubt it." Tony looked down over the railing. "There isn't a G credit in the galaxy that could manage to stay in his pocket. He's always been like this, spending without any common sense. But I gotta admit, this is pretty extreme, even for him."  
  
"Hm." chaos leaned over the railing.   
  
"chaos, about what happened..."  
  
chaos shook his head. "Don't worry about it."  
  
"Don't worry about it!?" Tony almost shouted, straightening up. "Don't you care that I've been sleeping around!? Don't you care that I might be losing my mind!?"  
  
"Of course I care. But I don't think you're losing your mind."  
  
"You sure don't seem like you care. I remember when you did, before...before what happened. The old chaos would hate me."  
  
"I'd never hate you, Tony." chaos turned to look at him with those sad eyes.  
  
"Maybe it would be better if you hated me. At least then I'd know you felt *something* for me. You're the one who wanted me to go with those girls. You haven't wanted anything to do with me since..." He waved a hand in anger. "Whatever the hell happened that night. It's like you aren't even the same person anymore."  
  
chaos said something quietly.  
  
"What?" Tony asked more angrily than he had intended.  
  
"I made a mistake." chaos said again, staring down at the docks. "Please, forgive me."  
  
"A mistake? Is that what I am!?" Tony wondered why he was the one upset. He wanted chaos to be angry with him, not the other way around. He wanted something to make sense.  
  
chaos had a weary look on his face. "No, that's not what I meant. I just... I just don't think I'm right for you. You'd be happier with someone else."  
  
"Oh, so now I'm not good enough for you."   
  
"Tony..."  
  
"Next you're going to tell me you suddenly woke up and decided you were straight. Don't give me that bullshit. I expect lame excuses from Hammer, not from you."  
  
chaos was biting his lip. Maybe it was just Tony's imagination, but he thought there was a hint of anger in his eyes. There was a slight quiver to his body.  
  
"Tony, I care about you. But it can't be the way it was."  
  
"Why not?" Standing behind chaos, Tony took him into an embrace. The smaller boy gave a small, surprised gasp. Tony whispered into the back of his neck. "Why do you turn me away when you're trembling like this?"  
  
chaos seemed to have momentarily lost his capability of speech.  
  
"You want me as much as I want you. You can't deny it anymore." It was all Tony could do to keep himself from taking chaos right there on the dock. He was so warm and firm...  
  
"I don't know if it's you I want." chaos breathed heavily.  
  
Tony blinked. What the heck did that mean?  
  
"You can do better." chaos was wobbling slightly on his feet. "Please Tony, let go."  
  
With great reluctance, Tony did so.  
  
***  
  
Four years passed.  
  
Whisps of smoke reflected in the window. When the smoke dissolved, Tony could see his own sober face in the dark glass. He looked tired. The Captain had been like a slave driver, working them to death for the past few weeks. The final deadline to pay off his debt was only a few days away, and there was no way they were going to meet it.   
  
"There you are." chaos' reflection appeared in the window. There was a weariness to his face, but he was as cheerful as always.   
  
Tony looked from his reflection to that of chaos. During the past four years, Tony had grown a lot. Thanks in part to all the hard labor the Captain inflicted on him, he had become much more muscular. And only in the past year, he grown his last couple of inches, and was beginning to lose his boyish features. chaos, on the other hand...  
  
It was yet another one of those things that was a silent taboo. The crew never talked about it, somehow it just went without saying. No one outside the crew was ever around long enough to notice. To notice, that chaos still looked exactly as he did four years ago. He hadn't aged a day. Still small and slight, chaos appeared to be the youngest of the Elsa crew. But one look into those unfathomable turquoise eyes was enough to even make strangers stare in confusion. Not that they ever really understood what they were seeing.  
  
Not that Tony had any better idea, even knowing what little he did. Even without knowing about chaos' ageless condition, people always noticed his strange silver hair. They assumed he was some kind of uberhuman, although they weren't always that polite in saying so. Tony supposed they were probably right.   
  
But then he would remember what it was like to touch chaos. And he would wonder...  
  
"Tony? You awake?"  
  
Broken out of his thoughts, Tony turned to face chaos. Putting his cigarette to his lips again, he just nodded an acknowledgement. As he took another long draw, he knew chaos was watching him very closely. How chaos had managed to remain celibate for four years was beyond Tony's comprehension. He knew chaos wasn't that much of a saint. Countless times he had seen the silver-haired boy get that glazed look. And on occasion, Tony tried to take matters into his own hands. But chaos never acted on whatever he was feeling, and never allowed Tony either. Hammer often proclaimed that chaos would snap someday, and Tony didn't doubt it. But he didn't think it would be in a good way.  
  
"Hammer wants us down in the cabin. I think he wants to talk about the situation."  
  
With a slight scowl, Tony crushed his cigarette into an ashtray. "Again? I don't know what's to talk about, there's nothing we can do."  
  
"I know, but it won't hurt to hear him out." chaos smiled weakly.  
  
"Okay, alright, let's go hear ratboy out."  
  
***  
  
Hammer was pacing back and forth in the middle of the cabin like some ridiculous parody of a drill sargeant. Tony wondered if Hammer even realized he and chaos were still sitting at the table. This wasn't the first time Hammer had called them together like this, but during the past week it usually just ended with the navigator erupting into hysterics. chaos was nibbling on a small creme-filled pastry.  
  
"Okay guys... So what're we gonna do!?" Hammer finally stopped pacing.  
  
"Huh? I thought you had another brilliant plan, oh fearless leader." Tony put a hand to his forehead. "Another mutiny? A crazy treasure hunt?"  
  
"Changing all our names to Bob, the Captain almost went with that one." chaos absently licked the cream from his gloved fingers.  
  
Tony tried not to pay attention to the way chaos was eating. "Yeah, then he made all of us clean out the waste disposal unit. Manually!"   
  
Hammer pouted. "Okay, so maybe the mutiny wasn't a good idea-"   
  
"There's an understatement." Tony mumbled. Matthews had threatened to throw Hammer off the ship. While they were still in space.  
  
"-and the treasure wasn't what it was cracked up to be-"  
  
"Those earrings look nice on Tony." chaos smiled.  
  
Tony shook his head grimly, hoping he wasn't blushing too much.   
  
"-but if we don't figure out something right now, they're gonna kill us!" Hammer slammed his fists onto the table, making both chaos and Tony jump.   
  
"We know, Hammer." chaos said softly, his face serious. "That's why the Captain's been working us so hard. And even if we don't make the deadline..."  
  
"Deadline is right," Tony growled. "Unless the Captain can find someone else willing to loan him that much money."  
  
"That's how we got into this mess to begin with." Hammer groaned. "Loan after loan to pay off all that work he did to the Elsa four years back. And then he wanted to upgrade the ship some more. And after that, he took that trip to Bunnieworld, just to see the galaxy's only planet-scale amusement park. And then he... chaos, that isn't funny!"  
  
"Sorry." chaos took off a pair of fake souvenir bunny ears.  
  
"The debt keeps piling on and on, we'll never pay it off!"  
  
"So what are you bothering us for?" Tony rubbed his forehead. "If there's nothing we can do, maybe we should all just go on strike and wait for the Captain's friends?"  
  
"I think we should just keep doing what we've been doing." chaos said firmly. "Worrying about it won't help us. But even if they don't give us more time, we won't go down without a fight."  
  
Hammer froze. "Whoaaa...no, no, no, let's please not go there!"  
  
"It's probably our only option." Tony said.   
  
"We are so dead." Hammer whimpered.  
  
The comm system suddenly roared Captain Matthews' voice through the cabin. "Get your asses to the bridge! Right now, all of you! We've got an emergency!"  
  
***  
  
When the three reached the bridge, they were met with the sight of three black ships gliding towards the Elsa. There were no lights or markings on the ships, they were nearly invisible, black patches in the starry sky. Tony was reminded of ancient videos of panthers stalking their prey. Matthews was sitting in his chair, snapping some kind of rifle together.  
  
"What's going on?" Hammer looked from the rifle to the ships.   
  
"Are they..." Tony frowned. "But we still have three days! They can't be coming to collect already!"  
  
"It's them, alright." Matthews growled. "They just contacted us a minute ago. Apparently they've decided to swing around a little early. Probably wanted to make sure we wouldn't try to escape before the deadline."  
  
"Which we should have." Hammer moaned.  
  
"Captain, are you going to try talking to them first? Maybe..." chaos said.  
  
"I tried that already." Matthews said. "They didn't want to talk. They're coming onboard in a few minutes. I suggest you three get to your posts and get ready. When they try to dock beside us, we'll make a break for it. It's our only chance."  
  
"Yeah!" Tony felt the adrenaline beginning to pump. "They'll never be able to catch the Elsa!" He ran to the pilot's seat, itching to get going.   
  
"Those ships are armed, this is going to extremely risky." Hammer said nervously as he sat at his post.   
  
"Tony can handle it." chaos said. Tony smiled to himself.  
  
"He'd better, or we're already good as dead." Matthews muttered.  
  
"Just leave it to me." Tony's hands clenched and unclenched on the controls.  
  
"The ships are charging their weapons.... Captain!" chaos shouted.  
  
"Damnit, they're trying to cripple us, go!" Matthews yelled, and the Elsa lunged forward. In an instant, they had bolted between the ships and were speeding beyond. They just missed being grazed by blazing red laser fire.  
  
It wasn't long before the black ships were speeding after them. But they weren't fast enough to keep up with the likes of the Elsa. Tony laughed despite himself. They could chase them to the ends of the universe, for all he cared.   
  
"What the hell are you laughin' about?" Matthews yelled. "Watch out!"  
  
"They're firing again!" Hammer yelped.  
  
The crimson lights streaked past as Tony dodged the Elsa around the laser fire. "They'll hafta do better than that! Bring it on, you bastards!"  
  
"Damnit, Tony, don't get cocky on me!" Matthews warned.  
  
"If we live through this, I demand a vacation..." Hammer hissed under his breath. His fingers flew over the navigation console.  
  
The laser fire grew more insistant, red streamers threatened to overcome them if the Elsa made one wrong move. It was all Tony could do to keep them inches away from disaster, weaving and rocking the ship. He blinked to get the beads of sweat out of his eyes.  
  
"We're being intercepted!" chaos cried out, but it was already too late.  
  
Out of nowhere, three more black ships were in front of them. As Tony dodged the newcomers, the pursuing ships finally succeeded in hitting the Elsa. It was only one laser strike, unavoidable as the Elsa had manuevered past an intercepting ship. But the Elsa pitched and shuddered, telling of the damage. Then they came to a stop, and the lights went out with a deep rumbling within the ship. In the dark, the shadowy ships gathering around them seemed more ominous than ever.  
  
"Switching to emergency lifesupport." chaos looked up from his console. "Captain, we're dead in the water."  
  
"Aw, hell." Matthews sighed. Then jumped to his feet, rifle in hand. "Okay, this is it. We'll have to fight them off."  
  
"Fight!?" Hammer looked terrified.  
  
"It'll be okay." chaos said as he rose from his seat. But Tony didn't think he sounded very convinced of it himself.  
  
After going into the first cabin, they picked up some weapons. Except for chaos. He could handle a gun, but he was deadlier without one. Tony knew this well. The engineer wore signs of anxiety, but other than that, chaos seemed calm. Tony felt like his stomach was twisting into knots. He wasn't a bad fighter himself, but they were outnumbered. There was a good chance this was the one tight spot they wouldn't be able to squeeze out of.  
  
Suddenly there was what sounded like a small explosion from outside.   
  
"They've forced the airlock open." Hammer whispered.  
  
"Out towards the back." Matthews said quietly. "We'll try to surround them. No telling how many there are, so we have to move fast. Hammer, you come with me. chaos, Tony, you take the side opposite us."  
  
In agreement, they exited the back of the cabin. Somehow, Tony knew it wasn't going to work. But still, he was surprised when the door opened to a line of nasty looking laser rifles. Holding the rifles were a group of men in black uniforms. Behind them, there were still more men with rifles. Only one stood out, a bald guy in a red three-piece suit.  
  
"Please don't try my patience any further." The red-suited man said with an unusual accent. Tony realized it was Vlenarian. "Put down your weapons and step back inside. You have wasted enough of my time."  
  
There was a long moment, where Tony could only hear the blood beating in his ears. Then the Captain dropped his gun with a loud clattering. Tony and Hammer immediately did the same. He heard chaos let out a breath. The riflemen edged them back into the cabin.  
  
"Very good. Now put your hands into the air, and turn around."  
  
As they did as they were ordered, there was the sound of the cabin door swishing shut.  
  
"Look," Matthews started, "I just need a little more time, I-" One of the riflemen struck Matthews in the back of the head with the butt of his weapon. The Captain fell heavily to the cabin floor with a groan.   
  
"I didn't give you permission to speak." Growled red-suited man. "If any of the rest of you want to live, I suggest you do as your told."  
  
Glancing cautiously to the side, Tony saw Hammer shivering. Beside Hammer, one of the men was pointing his rifle down at the Captain's unconscious body. What the boss of these guys was saying... Maybe they would live through this somehow. But they couldn't let them kill the Captain...what could they do? Suddenly he was aware of the red-suited man close beside him. His blood ran cold.  
  
"Well now... I do believe we've found ourselves a little mutant."  
  
Mutant? Tony's eyes darted over. Immediately, his teeth clenched as he felt all the heat rush to his face. The bastard was running a finger down chaos' cheek and tracing his jawline. The red-suited man turned aside chaos' chin while he inspected the silvery locks...it was as if he were examining an animal. chaos' stance and expression was stony.   
  
"I think I can find ways for you to work off the debt owed to me." Red-suit purred. The riflemen snickered among themselves. Tony's hands clenched reflexively.  
  
The red-suit noticed Tony's anger, and turned towards him. "Am I upsetting you? Remember, you are the ones who have inconvienced me. But go ahead, and tell me whatever it is you are burning to say. You have my permission."  
  
"Fuck off."  
  
The red-suited man just smiled. But his eyes were livid. "I see." Then he turned aside and walked out of view behind them. Glancing over, Tony met chaos' eyes. There was a sound, and he saw the turquoise eyes suddenly widen in terror. Before Tony also understood the sound behind them, he heard another sound, the high pitched whistle of laser fire.   
  
"TONY!"   
  
Next thing Tony knew, he was hitting the floor face first. For some reason, he couldn't move. There was an uncomfortable warmth in his torso, but surprisingly no pain. He had always thought being shot by a laser rifle would hurt like hell. But somehow...everything seemed so fuzzy and far away... Echoing in his ears was even more guns firing... It sounded like a real massacre. Closing his eyes, he wondered if the others were okay...  
  
Someone was touching him, and he felt moisture and breath on his face. A soft voice, whispering by his ear. "Please...please...unleash some of thy powers...unleash..." It sounded like chaos... Like he was begging a prayer, over and over...  
  
The gunfire had finally died down, and Tony heard another much louder voice.  
  
"Hey, you guys okay? ...Damnit... Get the medics in here, we've got an emergency!" It sounded like some kid. What was a kid doing here?   
  
At last, everything went silent.  



	7. Chapter 7

From the Abyss   
by Moonstone04  
---  
  
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].  
  
Big sorry, I really thought this would be the last chapter (again), but it isn't. It just got way too long again, so I cut it in two. I'm almost done with the final chapter tho, so it shouldn't be too long a wait to the next one. Sorry!   
  
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.  
  
---  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
What felt like an eternity of darkness and heat began to lift. A cool, soft touch was on his cheek. With this sensation, at last came a stirring of consciousness as well. Tony turned into the touch, seeking the comfort it offered. Gentle light seeped into the darkness, until he could see a fuzzy silhouette hovering above him.  
  
As the image came into focus, he saw that it was chaos. His liquid blue eyes were filled with concern. Tony reached up to touch his face, and was rewarded with a tearful smile. He wanted to tell chaos not to cry, that he was okay. But he couldn't speak for some reason. Instead, chaos touched Tony's hand against his cheek.  
  
"I love you. You know I love you, don't you?"  
  
Tony didn't see chaos' lips move at all, but somehow heard... no, felt his voice clearly. Then chaos closed his eyes and turned to kiss his hand. And the world was washed away in a flood of light.  
  
---  
  
His body ached all over. That was the first thing Tony was aware of. The next thing he was aware of as he gradually opened his eyes, was the darkness. He didn't feel ready to move, but he slowly took in what little he could of his surroundings.  
  
Wherever he was, it wasn't the Elsa. He seemed to be sleeping on a bed in a fairly large room. The darkness was only broken by soft blue lights along the walls. The rumble of the ship was different from the Elsa. Instead of the smell of dirty socks, there was the oddly unfamiliar scent of air freshener. But there was one familiar thing in the darkness.  
  
On the next bed over, he could hear Hammer's snoring. At least he wasn't alone in this place. As he lay there, the events prior to his blackout slowly came back to him. Where were they? Had the Captain's debtors taken them captive? On weakened arms, Tony forced himself to sit up. Immediately he was nearly overwhelmed by dizziness. Closing his eyes, he took several deep breaths to steady himself.  
  
He didn't have time to be sick. He had to figure out what had happened. The Captain and chaos didn't appear to be anywhere nearby. God, his midsection was so tender. But he was probably lucky to be alive after the hit he had taken. Wincing, he turned to sit on the edge of the bed. So far, so good.   
  
However, as soon as he tried standing on his legs, they folded. He was just too weak. As he collapsed, he grabbed onto the edge of Hammer's bed. This woke Hammer, who nearly jumped out of bed.   
  
"Tony! You're awake!" He helped Tony sit on the bed again. "We were so worried about you, the doctor said it was like a freakin' miracle, you took a direct hit, vital organs, heavy blood loss," Hammer didn't seem to need to breathe yet, "still, even though he said you'd make a full recovery, you wouldn't wake up, and chaos-"  
  
"Whoa..." Tony interrupted. Hammer's rambling was making his fevered head hurt. "Hold on, what's going on? Where are we? Where's chaos and the Captain?"   
  
"We're on the Durandal. I don't know the details, but apparently the ship was in the area when it realized we were under attack. They rescued us. The Captain got knocked out, but you know how hard headed he is. Nothing like that keeps him down long. I think he's been trying to get his mind off things in the ship's casino."  
  
"We're almost killed, and he still hasn't learned." Tony sighed.  
  
"Yeah... And chaos is okay too. I'm not sure where he is, I've only seen him a few times since we got here four days ago. I think he might have a separate room on the ship."  
  
Thinking of chaos made Tony remember the dream he had been having right before regaining consciousness. It had seemed so real, but until now it had slipped from his memory. Suddenly filled with the desire to see chaos, he again struggled to stand.  
  
"Hey! You shouldn't be walking around yet!" Hammer scolded him. "You almost died!"  
  
"Well, I'm not gonna spend my second chance lying around in bed." Tony growled. "Where's my clothes, I want outta here." Steeling himself, he finally managed to stand on his own two feet. He was still shaky and slightly nauseous, but he could deal with that.  
  
"Okay, okay." Hammer sighed. "Let me help you before you fall on your face."  
  
---  
  
After about an hour of searching, Tony was finally steady enough to walk without Hammer's help. They found Captain Matthews asleep on one of the casino couches, but were unable to make much of his sleep talk. Unwilling to stop looking for chaos, Tony went on while Hammer went back to bed.   
  
The Durandal was huge. He had never been onboard a ship that size before. Tony suspected it was bigger than most space colonies. There was a transport train needed just to get around. Eventually, he found his way to a place that appeared to be a small park with a large viewport. Dark and serene, there was very little light at that time of night. Glowing environmental bugs floated among the trees and greenery, like small fairies in an enchanted wood. The only sound here was the crystalline whispers of a tiny stream flowing through the park. Feeling a peacefulness he hadn't felt in a long time, Tony decided to rest there for a little while.  
  
But as Tony walked in further, he saw that he was not alone. Standing before the viewport, bathed in silver starlight, was chaos. For a moment, Tony couldn't move. He was rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but stare. Surrounded by the vastness of the stars, he had never seen chaos look quite so... ethereal. The boy looked too much like a vision, and Tony was suddenly unsure of whether he dared approach.  
  
Then, chaos turned around. The previous aura seemed to fade as chaos' face lit up with joy. "Tony! You're awake!" He ran over to him. "But what are you doing here? I'm sure it isn't a good idea for you to be up and around so soon."  
  
"Eh, I'm okay." Tony smiled. "As long as I'm not dead."  
  
"That's good to hear." chaos then did something that he hadn't done in ages. He hugged Tony tightly.   
  
Before Tony could recover from his shock, chaos had moved away again. Tony was glad it was so dark, because his face was so hot, he knew he must be a violent shade of red. "Uh...yeah... chaos..."  
  
"Tony..."  
  
"Oh! So he's awake?" The new voice came echoing from across the park.   
  
Tony and chaos turned to see what appeared to be a twelve-year old, redheaded kid coming towards them. A black trenchcoat swirled behind him as he walked.   
  
"Yeah." chaos smiled at the young boy. "Jr, this is Tony, our ship's helmsman. Tony, this is Jr, the Durandal's captain."  
  
Tony blinked. "Captain!? This little kid?"  
  
"Hey, watch it!" Jr glared. "I could've left you to the vultures, you know!"  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it." Tony said sheepishly. "I'm grateful, really. I'm just a little surprised is all. I've never met a captain as young as you are. And of a ship this size... It's really impressive."  
  
The compliment to the ship clearly pleased Jr. He nodded with a smile. "The Durandal's one of a kind, that's for sure. Your Captain Matthews has decided you'll be staying with us until we reach the foundation."  
  
"The foundation?"  
  
Jr raised an eyebrow at chaos, then looked back to Tony. "You've never heard of the Kukai Foundation? Now that's impressive. We can't seem to keep ourselves out of the news these days."  
  
"I guess we've had our hands full lately." Tony said. It was the truth, with the problems surrounding the Captain's debt, they hadn't paid attention to much else.  
  
"It would seem so." Jr walked up beside them and looked out the viewport. "But maybe we can help you guys with that once we return to the foundation."  
  
Tony couldn't help feeling that there was something odd about Jr. Something odd, yet familiar, that he couldn't quite place. It would be years until he understood what it was. But remembering the contemplative look chaos gave Jr, he suspected chaos had known all along. Maybe it was that sense of the same kind of strangeness that had drawn them together from the start. Tony couldn't help being a little jealous, but only a little. There seemed to be a shared sense of sadness between them that Tony somehow knew he was not meant to know. So he was always grateful for Jr's friendship.   
  
---  
  
The next day, Tony went to check out the Elsa. It was in the Durandal's dock, and looked a bit banged up. It didn't look all that bad on the outside, but he knew it was probably going to cost another small fortune to fix. It appeared they had survived only to find themselves in even deeper trouble.   
  
"It's just our luck, of course." Tony sighed as he looked around at the spilled cargo crates on the Elsa's lower deck. It was going to take forever to put everything back in place. "We might as well get started here. Hammer's already assessing the real damage."  
  
"Maybe you should rest some more." chaos said worriedly. "You really shouldn't be doing this kind of work so soon. You could hurt yourself."  
  
"I told you, I'm fine. Let's just get this done with." Tony bent down to pick up a crate that was on its side. Suddenly a sharp pain arced through his midsection. He only winced, but momentarily, he couldn't move. He hoped chaos hadn't noticed, but the silver-haired boy had eyes like a hawk.  
  
"I can't let you do this." chaos reached out to help Tony. "I'll get the Captain to order you out of here if I have to. You need more rest."  
  
"Damnit, chaos, I'm not going to spend the entire day on my ass while the Elsa is like this..." Trying to pull away from chaos, he stepped back into a fallen crate, and lost his balance. Grabbing the nearest thing in a quick attempt to keep himself from slipping backwards, Tony seized the front of chaos' jacket.   
  
There was a comically bewildered look on chaos' face as they both went crashing into the pile of crates. The cargo went flying and skittering across the deck. And everything went dark. But not because Tony had been knocked out. He was still awake. He knew he was still awake because he could feel new pain throughout his body.  
  
"Ow."  
  
"Uh, Tony, you okay?" The darkness lifted as chaos pulled the small crate off Tony's head.  
  
"I think I've broken my back in a few places, but other than that, I'm okay." Tony couldn't help grinning at the look on chaos' face. "I'm kidding. But I'm probably going to be one big bruise tomorrow. Maybe you can kiss it and make it better?" He laughed.  
  
chaos wasn't laughing. From the ambiguously serious look on his face, Tony expected he was about to get lectured again. But no lecture came. Just a strange silence. And Tony became uncomfortably aware of the throbbing heat that chaos was sitting on.  
  
There was a dreamlike quality to the air as chaos leaned down to kiss him. How many times had Tony had dreamed of this? How many times had he woken up to disappointing reality? This couldn't be real, could it? He kept his eyes open, afraid that it would disappear if he closed them. He was afraid to move, afraid to breathe...  
  
A soft groan came from chaos, and suddenly his soft kiss changed into an ardent crush. The silver-haired boy was clutching at his shirt, and Tony could feel the waves of electric heat coming from him. Tony felt overwhelmed, he had never experienced that kind of intensity before. If he hadn't been caught up in it himself, it might have frightened him.   
  
With soft, wanton moans, chaos rubbed and rocked against Tony. It felt too good to be a dream. Unable to restrain himself any longer, he put his arms around chaos and held him tightly. It had been so long since he had felt him so close like this...  
  
All his pain, all their troubles seemed like an entirely different world. At that moment, Tony's whole existence was the world of chaos' heat and touch. The rustle of fabric on fabric, the creak of the material of chaos' jacket. The moans and sighs of chaos and himself. The heavy breathing as they came up for air for a few seconds at a time before coming together in another bruising kiss. The feel of chaos' strong and slender body writhing against him in desperate need. The feel of chaos' burning hardness pressing against his own as Tony arched against him. The hot, wet silk of chaos' mouth, searing him with pleasure. His beautiful, wonderful chaos. The rest of the world could have ended and begun again around them without notice, for all they knew.  
  
When chaos reached down into Tony's trousers and began to stroke him, it was too much. Convulsing with pleasure, Tony finally closed his eyes as he threw his head back. He felt chaos' mouth on his throat, feeling the vibrations there as he cried out. For as long as it lasted, Tony spent himself in chaos' warm grip.  
  
Tony was still trembling with the force of his orgasm when he was finally able to collect himself to speak. chaos was still tasting him, seemingly in a haze of lust.  
  
"I love you." Tony managed to whisper between breaths.  
  
Suddenly, chaos went still. He seemed to rest against Tony for a moment, then slowly rose above him. The boy's eyes were bright with tears. He didn't know what he had done wrong, but Tony felt like kicking himself. chaos was standing up.  
  
"I'm sorry, it's my fault." chaos said in steadying breaths. "I shouldn't have."  
  
Tony couldn't believe it. chaos was building his wall again. He could almost see chaos putting it back up block by block, after it was destroyed in a flood of passion a few minutes ago. He couldn't stand for it. "chaos, don't talk like that! Why can't you just accept my feelings, no, why can't you accept yours? Or is it something else? What are you afraid of?" Finally, he let it all out. "Why are you so desperate for me to forget about you? Why are you always throwing me at random girls... I know... I know it's something you did, it's in my mind now, making me forget whenever there's a pretty girl around. I don't know how you did it, but I know it's your doing..."  
  
chaos was silent as he stared at the floor. There was an slightly frightened look on his face. And there was something else there that Tony hadn't seen before. It was a little unnerving but Tony thought it looked like chaos was swallowing a panic attack. What was wrong? Maybe he had pushed chaos too far.   
  
"...chaos, I..."  
  
"I don't want to cause you any suffering." chaos closed his eyes, visibly steeling himself. "Tony, I do love you, but I wish I could make you understand. You can't love me."   
  
"Why not?" Tony frowned.   
  
chaos just shook his head. "I had a moment of weakness, and I was selfish. That's why I'm sorry, Tony. I shouldn't be putting you through this."  
  
"Wait, what..."  
  
"Don't worry about it." Opening his eyes, chaos smiled sadly. "I can't let you work in your condition. I can handle this by myself. Go get some rest."  
  
Whatever Tony had been going to say seemed unimportant. chaos was right, he had to go rest before he hurt himself. Tony was still sitting on the floor. On shaky legs, he stood and nodded mutely. His emotions were churning, but he said nothing as he found himself heading towards the elevator. He couldn't even look at chaos.  
  
Not until he was in the shower, did he realize he had been in a daze. But it was too late, the moment had come and gone. chaos had done it again. Cursing loudly, Tony pounded the wet tile with his fists. "Why!? Why did he do it!?"  
  
As much as he had dreamed of being with chaos again, he wished it hadn't happened. Not like that. He had learned to live with the longing, the desire he couldn't have. What chaos had just done was the equivalent of opening an old wound. If Tony's feelings had been terrible before, now it was unbearable. His body still shivered with satisfaction, but deep inside, he needed something more.   
  
---  
  
Sitting on a bench, Tony watched the Durandal crew go by. There were a lot of Realians, most of them nearly identical. Brown-haired Realian girls in the same pink jumpsuit went back and forth doing whatever it was they did. Brown-haired Realian boys in the same orange jumpsuit went back and forth doing whatever it was they did. It was bizarre, but by no means out of the ordinary. On the flipside, the human members of the Durandal crew were anything but ordinary. Most of them looked normal, but occasionally there would be someone whose odd hair or eye color gave them away as uberhumans. The Durandal crew was a strange bunch, with an even stranger captain. chaos' own odd features wouldn't even raise an eyebrow in a ship like this one.  
  
Slumping down in his seat, Tony let his head fall back as he stared glumly at the ceiling. There was no getting chaos out of his head. All he thought about was the heat, the kiss, the touch that completed him... And the utter confusion chaos wrecked upon his mind and feelings. He still didn't understand what fears caused chaos to reject him. But chaos was right about one thing, to love him was to suffer. Nothing chaos was afraid of could possibly be worse than this pain...right?  
  
"Man, you look awful. But I guess anyone would after what you went through."  
  
Surprised, Tony pushed himself upright. The "Little Master," as everyone on the ship referred to the captain, was standing there with a bemused expression.  
  
"Uh, yeah." Tony put a hand to his head. "It's been crazy."  
  
"That's life for you." Jr shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back a bit. "Why don't you come with me. I think we could both use a little break."  
  
Tony still wasn't sure what to make of Jr, but he nodded. "Sure, why not."  
  
---  
  
Damn, Tony had seen many things, but he'd never seen a little kid drink that much. It was a bit unsettling to watch, but anyway, Tony was the last guy to be preaching anything. Jr had saved their lives, and who was he to tell the Durandal's captain what to do?   
  
As it was, Tony was doing his best to get drunk out of his mind. His head was becoming pleasantly fuzzy, and he liked it that way. It made it harder to remember... Instead, he just focused on listening to Jr, who apparently became very vocal when he was drunk. At least, Tony thought Jr was drunk, he just had to be after all that. Jr was downing another shot glass. Then again, the kid seemed to have a constitution of steel.  
  
"...and they've been with us ever since. Those girls really love Gaignun." Jr paused for a moment, and reached back over the bar for another bottle of wine. "I guess word got around after a while, and the foundation became a haven for uberhumans looking for a place they could belong. People come from all over, so the foundation has really grown."  
  
Tony stared into the drink cupped in his hands. Something was biting at his mind, but he couldn't say what it was. It was as fogged as the stately surroundings of Jr's cabin. When he spoke, he wasn't even aware of what he had said until afterwards.  
  
"Have you ever been in love?"  
  
If he wasn't quite so smashed, Tony thought he'd feel like a damned fool. Jr just turned and looked at him with his wide, vivid blue eyes. There was a surprisingly nervous look on Jr's face. Like a cat caught in a canary cage. It reminded Tony of something that made his stomach twist, so he looked away. Whatever. What would some kid know about those kind of feelings, anyway? Tony took another drink in another attempt to drown those thoughts.  
  
Jr finally made a soft amused sound. "Love... Buddha said, he who loves fifty people has fifty woes. He who loves no one has no woes. ...You could say I have my own share of woe. How about you?"  
  
"I guess we're in the same boat."  
  
"I thought so." Jr murmured. "You had that look. I know it too well."  
  
"Look?"  
  
Jr just closed his eyes and leaned back against the bar. "Don't act ignorant."  
  
"Who you calling ignorant, ya squirt." Tony grumbled.   
  
"It bites, you know."   
  
Tony frowned. "What does?"  
  
"Living in the moment. It bites." Jr tilted his head back as he took a drink. He stared at the now empty glass in his hand. "When you live in the moment, nothing ever happens, and nothing ever progresses. There is no future, and there is no hope." With a flick of his wrist, Jr threw the glass back over the bar. "It bites."  
  
Tony flinched at the sound of shattering glass. Jr put his head back on the bar, his arms out on the brass armrail. "I saved him. It was the only way I could make up for what I did... No, I can never atone for that. But it's all I could do. And this..." He did a small motion with both hands. "...but it'll never be enough.  
  
"He's all I have left." Jr stared blankly at the ceiling. "The others are all gone. I love him more than anything in the world. And he knows that... There's some things that are impossible to keep from him. He'll always know me more intimately than anyone. But I'm supposed to be his son. What an irony."  
  
Tony blinked, trying to understand what the hell Jr was talking about.   
  
"I can see it now." Jr continued. "Kukai Incest Scandal! Oh, the media would love that." He frowned. "I can't risk putting him through that. For his sake and the sake of the foundation."  
  
"Man..." Tony tried to collect his thoughts. "You wanna do your dad!?"  
  
"You idiot, haven't you been paying attention?" Jr glowered at him. "Wasn't I clear enough, or do I have to write it out for you with footnotes!?"  
  
"I think so, I don't know what the hell you're talking about!"  
  
"I don't have anything to write with." Jr sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Anyway, Gaignun isn't my real dad. But don't tell anyone or I'll shoot you."  
  
"Who the hell is Gaignun?"  
  
"You're drunk, aren't you?" Jr squinted over at him.  
  
"Damn right. And you wanna get with your dad."  
  
"Shut up. He's not my Gaignun." Jr flinched and closed his eyes. "People when they look at us, they don't know any better. Everyone knows Gaignun's a playboy. And those damned child services people from the Federation are convinced I'm some innocent little kid being corrupted by him. But they've got it all wrong. He's the pure one. He's the innocent. I'm the corrupter...I'm the monster."  
  
"I still don't know what the hell you're talking about, but aren't you being a little harsh on yourself?" Tony was trying to put it together in his head, and failing miserably.   
  
"I can't expect you to understand." Jr said, sliding an arm back over the bar. "But I bring suffering to everyone who loves me. Like her..." Jr's voice caught for a moment. "And all the others...he barely survived. I won't interfere with his future. I won't inflict him with this sin and pain I carry. This is my punishment."  
  
Something in Jr's words made a bubble of sadness and fury well up inside of Tony. Before he knew what he was doing, he was shouting. "Have you ever considered what he feels!? Did you ever think how lonely he feels when you lock yourself away from him!? Huh!?"  
  
"Uhh?" Jr jumped at the sudden passion in the pilot's voice. "Tony?"   
  
The heat in his head seemed to have burned much of the alcohol's effects away. Tony's head suddenly felt painfully clear as he sat up. He could feel his chest tighten as the memories of the day came flooding back to him. "You say you're a monster. You say he knows you more intimately than anyone. Well if that's true, then he knows and doesn't give a damn. All he wants is to be in your eyes and drown there."  
  
Jr's eyebrows rose. "We aren't talking about me anymore, are we?"  
  
"Umph." Tony rested his head in his hands.   
  
"I think I've been talking too much as well." Jr sighed. "I may not know what you're going through yourself, Tony, but I feel we have much in common. From my own perspective, I can only tell you to beware gazing long into that abyss. Lest the abyss gaze back into you."  
  
Frowning, Tony looked up from his palms. Only to see Jr stumble into the next room, half tripping over his long coat. The door slid closed behind him. With a sigh, Tony let his head sink to the bar surface, and sleep descended on him almost immediately.  
  



	8. Chapter 8

From the Abyss   
by Moonstone04  
---  
  
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].  
  
This is finally the final chapter! XD Hope you liked the fic! Thank you everyone who commented! - This particular chapter has been edited to high heaven, but thems the Fanfiction net breaks.   
  
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.  
  
---  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
"Tony?" The voice sounded far away.  
  
A touch to his forehead brought Tony to horrible wakefulness. It felt like two Gernaldian miniature weasels were gnawing at the back of his eyes. It had been a long time since he'd had a hangover that bad. The events of the night before were a blur. He couldn't even remember returning to the Elsa.  
  
"Tony, you have to get up now."  
  
Who was that? A wave of nausea came over Tony as he opened his eyes to the light. There was someone standing there above him. "chaos...?" He croaked.  
  
"chaos left with the Captain over an hour ago. I told them we'd catch up."   
  
"Huh? Hammer?" The weary looking navigator came into painful focus. "Ugh, leave me alone."  
  
"You really messed yourself up last night." Hammer sighed. "And chaos looks awful too. Did you guys have a fight or somethin'?"  
  
Tony just groaned and pulled the blanket over his head.   
  
"Anyway, we've arrived at the Kukai Foundation. Little Master's arranged for us to meet with the head honcho here, and the Captain wants us all there to show our gratitude."  
  
"Urgh... I just hope I don't puke all over him." Tony moaned as he pulled the blanket back off. "Hammer, I'm gonna die."  
  
Hammer shook his head with a sigh. "I'll go get the aspirin."  
  
---  
  
Now Tony had been around the galactic block quite a few times, but he had never seen a colony as big and majestic as the Kukai Foundation. It was massive, although clearly still under heavy construction. Sometime while he slept, the entire Durandal had docked into the midst of it, like a fairy tale tower in the vast mirror of the colony's central lake. But looking out into that bright vision too long made the pain in his temples throb worse. So he turned away from the ferryship window.  
  
"..some meeting, so the Captain's going to talk to him afterwards. I hope I remember the directions..." Hammer fidgeted in his seat.  
  
Tony rubbed at the bridge of his nose, wishing the aspirin worked better. "Who's this guy again? Mister Eyenun?"  
  
"Gaignun. Master Gaignun Kukai. Apparently he's Jr's father, and the guy in control of this entire place. I've heard he's some kind of philanthropist."  
  
Jr's father... Fragments of the day before came back to him. Yikes... Tony wondered what the hell was really going on with Jr and that guy, but he wasn't about to stick his nose into it. He had enough trouble trying to figure out chaos.   
  
chaos... No, he wasn't going to think about that!  
  
"...damn it, Tony, I forgot the map!"  
  
---  
  
Swell. Tony's feet were killing him, and they were no closer to finding where they were supposed to go. They were looking for a community center, but judging from all the chicken feathers in the air, this wasn't it. Unless the foundation really liked chickens.  
  
"What kind of navigator loses the map!?" Tony grumbled.  
  
Hammer whirled around angrily. "Don't blame me! I told you to bring it!"  
  
"Oh no, you're not even going to try weasling out of this!" A floating feather got stuck in Tony's mouth. It took a moment of sputtering before he got it out of his mouth. "You're the worst navigator ever! You can't even find what must be an obnoxiously huge building...!" Uh oh. Tony paused as Hammer's eyes narrowed dangerously. Maybe he had taken it a bit too far...  
  
"Come on!" Hammer grabbed his wrist and started pulling him towards the chicken farm. Next thing Tony knew, Hammer pushed him into a big mud puddle. At least, Tony hoped it was just mud. It squished everywhere. The sound of Hammer's laughter made it worse. He was gonna hurt the little rodent...!  
  
"You jerk!" Tony jumped up and wrestled Hammer down into the mud. "How do you like it..!?" Suddenly Hammer threw big glob of the stuff in his face.  
  
"You had it coming, you big ignoramus!" Hammer yelled.  
  
They wrestled across the ground, until the floor unexpectedly opened under them. With cries of surprise, they went falling through what seemed like an entire cloud of feathers. But these feathers had entire chickens attached to them. After a moment of loud angry squawking, they rolled out onto another street, apparently on the other side of the chicken farm. The chickens here went flying away as they tumbled past.   
  
Despite the momentary shock, Tony wasted no time in getting back to throttling the hell out of Hammer. Only to be interrupted by a triumphant shout from the navigator as he pointed over their heads. "Hah!" Tony followed Hammer's pointing hand to the obnoxiously huge building across the street. Golden letters spelled 'community center' across it.  
  
"I told you!" Hammer breathed with excitedly. "I knew I was going the right way!"  
  
Tony shook his head wearily. "Lucky... Fine, I give." Getting to his feet, he helped Hammer up. They were both a mess. Thanks to the sticky mud, they were plastered with feathers from the chicken coops. "The Captain isn't going to be happy to see us."  
  
"I don't know if it matters, we've probably missed them by now."  
  
"You MORONS!"  
  
Tony and Hammer both cringed at the familiar bellow.  
  
Hammer smiled nervously without turning away from Tony. "Well, at least he recognizes us."  
  
"Like that's a good thing?" Tony sighed. Then he turned across the street. "Aye, Captain!"  
  
"What the hell happened to you!?" The Captain looked furious. Next to him, chaos seemed to be fighting to keep a straight face. With them was a tall, dark-haired teenager in a very fancy suit. He looked way too young, but the resemblance to Jr was unmistakable. Still, no way this guy could be Jr's father...  
  
They were frozen on the spot until the Captain yelled at them to get over there. With a nervous jump between them, they quickly joined the others.  
  
"So, that's why the chicken crossed the road." Gaignun raised an amused eyebrow at them. "Good day, gentlemen."  
  
Captain Matthews shook his head and pulled on his cap. "These two morons are the rest of my crew. Morons, this is Master Gaignun. He's been gracious enough to loan us the money we need, and we'll be in his service from now on. So be grateful!" He ordered.  
  
"Thank you, thank you!" Hammer cried in a mixture of panic and genuine gratitude. While Tony said something like "thank you for saving our asses, sir." He was so embarassed, he wasn't entirely sure what he said. But thankfully it seemed to appease the Captain.  
  
"Well then, once your ship is repaired, I'll contact you again about our arrangements." Gaignun smiled. "In the meantime, enjoy your stay at the foundation. If you'll excuse me." With a slight nod, he turned and walked away towards a waiting limo.  
  
"Wow..." Hammer was staring after him. "He really paid it all off?"  
  
"That's right." Captain Matthews said. "We really owe him one."  
  
Tony glanced over at chaos, but the silver-haired boy was now avoiding his gaze. "I guess we're indentured servants now, huh?"  
  
"Damn right, we are!" Matthews proclaimed. "It's better than being dead. I'm sure we'll have the debt to Master Gaignun paid off in no time, then we'll be free as birds again."   
  
Tony exchanged a doubtful look with Hammer.  
  
"Anyway, I've booked us a room here in the foundation for a few days." Matthews went on. "I'll need to hunt around a little to find some of the parts we need with no questions asked. Master Gaignun has put the repairs on his tab, so we don't need to worry about the price, at least for the moment."  
  
As Matthews trailed away in thought, Hammer hurried after him. "Captain, please be careful, remember all this will go back on the debt! We can't just...!"  
  
Tony started following the other three, then stalled back. "Guys... You go ahead. I'm gonna go back to the Elsa."  
  
"Eh?" The Captain turned around. "What's with you, Tony?"  
  
"Yeah, don't you want to see the foundation?" Hammer blinked in surprise.  
  
chaos tugged and fastened his gloves, but no one noticed him. It was his usual, almost compulsive behavior, so of course they didn't notice. He didn't seem to be paying attention, but Tony knew better.   
  
"I'm not feeling too good. Probably still under the weather, y'know?" Tony shrugged like it was nothing. "I'll just stay at the Elsa tonight. We can meet up again tomorrow."  
  
"Suit yourself." Matthews said. "We'll be staying at the Our Treasure Inn."  
  
"You sure you wanna be by yourself?" Hammer frowned. The navigator glanced over at chaos, but the engineer was already following after the Captain. His frown deepened. "What happened?" He said in almost a whisper.  
  
"Hammer, you'd better get going, or you'll be lost on your own." Tony warned then turned to leave. "See ya tomorrow, man." He could feel his friend's eyes on his back as he walked away.  
  
---  
  
Forehead against the cold shower tile, Tony let the thousands of tiny water jets sting at his skin and hair. His hangover was nearly gone now, and the water felt good as it washed away all the feathers and muck. But his heart was still so heavy.  
  
This was probably a good thing, to be away from chaos for a while. Maybe a little distance could set things back to how they had been. As long as Tony didn't have to think about it, everything would be fine. He worked the soap in his hands to a creamy lather. But then again, when he was alone, it was all he could think about.  
  
Suddenly, despite knowing he was alone, he had the overwhelming feeling of being watched. Tony shivered. Something moved in the corner of his vision. With a sharp breath, he turned quickly to look. But there was no one else in the closed bathroom.  
  
"Probably still hung over," he sighed.  
  
Still, the feeling of being watched persisted.  
  
---  
  
One good thing about being alone on the Elsa was that he could walk around the ship in only his bathrobe without the Captain complaining. Tony opened a kitchen cabinet, which made a loud creaking noise. The bad thing was that the ship could be spooky when it was this quiet. There wasn't even the usual vibrating boom from the music played on the bridge speakers. And tonight, the ship seemed spookier than usual.   
  
Turning aside some canisters, he found they were out of ramen. Damn it all... He found an old packet of instant cinnamon-flavored oatmeal at the back of the cabinet. As he was wondering whether or not it was still edible, he suddenly felt the chill of eyes staring at his back. It was just too quiet, and he didn't want to turn around. He slowly put down the oatmeal packet and stood up.  
  
Adrenaline rushed through him as he turned around to see someone standing behind the center counter. But upon seeing who it was, his pulse didn't slow, although it may have skipped a beat. It was chaos. Tony hadn't even heard him come in.  
  
His mouth was suddenly dry, and he couldn't open his mouth to talk. His feelings were so confused, he didn't know what he wanted to say. chaos was standing there, his face so sad, those large, luminous eyes asking a mysterious question. And suddenly, Tony knew he was seeing chaos in a rare unguarded moment. Looking at those bright eyes full of pain, Tony just wanted to take it all away...   
  
Literally in the blink of an eye, it all disappeared behind a smile. "Uh..." chaos rubbed the back of his head. "I thought you could use company. I brought some Miltian takeout. Wanna eat in the cabin?"  
  
"Sure." Tony agreed with a nod.  
  
---  
  
Back in the cabin, all Tony's previous anxieties were absent. chaos' warm presence brought a familiar cozyness to the air. The delicious scent of the takeout certainly added to the nice atmosphere too. Tony was starving.  
  
While they ate, chaos was talking about something concerning the Captain, Hammer, Master Gaignun, and Jr. But Tony found himself listening to his voice more than listening to what he was saying. He barely managed to have his own side of the conversation, but it didn't seem to matter. He was just glad chaos was still talking to him. Maybe things could go back to normal sooner than later.  
  
Sitting across from him at the table, chaos was smiling, and Tony didn't want him to stop smiling. But he couldn't escape the memory of those sad eyes from before. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know how chaos might react. Instead, he went and fetched a bottle of his favorite wine. He saw chaos' eyes widen as he put it down on the table between them. The blue glass gleamed, and he could see it reflect in chaos' eyes.  
  
"Tony, but that's...!"  
  
"My best Hyacinth wine. For when the debt is finally paid off." Tony grinned as he popped the bottle open. "Yeah, but I've decided I'd rather drink this within my lifetime."   
  
Taking the wine, they moved to the couch to watch UMN channels. chaos had the remote, and descended the screen from the ceiling. It took a while to find a movie they both liked. Then the lights dimmed as they settled back with their glasses of wine.  
  
After a long time of silence, Tony glanced over to see chaos sipping the blue liquid, not looking at the screen. There was an expression of deep thought on his face. "Hey," said Tony, "you wanna change the channel?"  
  
chaos shook his head. "I was just thinking about the ship."  
  
"C'mon, don't sweat the repairs. Just relax tonight."  
  
"No, not that. I was just wondering... Did the Captain name the Elsa?"  
  
"Huh?" Tony blinked. "Oh. Hmm. No, he didn't. The ship was already named when he bought it, and he never changed the name. She is who she is, y'know."  
  
chaos was quiet for a moment as he took another sip of wine. "Do you know where Elsa's name comes from?"  
  
"Umm... Nope."  
  
"So I guess you're not familiar with Richard Wagner's work."  
  
"Nope. Who's that?" Tony didn't know what the heck chaos was going on about, but that was nothing new. He had a tendancy to talk strangely. Once again, Tony was just content to listen.   
  
"He was a musical composer in the nineteeth century."  
  
"Oh." Tony waited for a minute, but chaos was just staring into his wine some more. Then he waited some more. Some people in the movie started hollering. Finally, Tony knew he was going to have to wake chaos up. "Soo... What's that guy have to do with the ship?"  
  
chaos blinked out of whatever daze he'd been in. "Oh... He composed an opera called Lohengrin. In the story, the female protagonist is named Elsa von Brabant." chaos closed his eyes, and Tony thought he might have fallen asleep. But then he spoke again. "Elsa had a dream of being saved by a knight riding a swan. And one day when she was in need of help, the knight really arrived. The knight, who was secretly of a holy order, promised to always stay by Elsa's side to protect her. But only if she kept a promise to never, ever ask his origin or name."  
  
"Did she keep her promise?" Tony watched chaos sip his wine again, his eyes still closed. The light from the screen played across his silvery lashes.   
  
"No."  
  
Uh oh. There was something, some implications behind chaos' words that made him feel very uneasy. "What happened?"  
  
"Elsa learned the truth about her knight husband. And he had to return to where he came from." chaos set his empty glass down on the floor.   
  
---  
  
It was dark. Even the screen had gone black and quiet. Tony felt a little stiff, and realized it was because he had fallen asleep sitting up on the couch. He didn't even remember going to sleep. But at least he didn't have a hangover this time. In fact, there was a pleasant warmth pressed against his side.  
  
chaos was asleep, leaning against Tony's shoulder. Unable to help himself, Tony smoothed away strands of shining silver away from chaos' face. Even in his sleep, chaos seemed preoccupied, his brow slightly furrowed. Tony sighed.  
  
As much as he just wanted to stay there, he knew they would never sleep well while sitting on the couch. Trying not to wake him, Tony moved to lift him up. Despite his incredible strength, chaos was surprisingly light. But then he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He turned to find chaos awake and looking at him.  
  
"Tony?" chaos' gentle eyes were sad, but hopeful. "Can you promise me?"  
  
"Promise?" Tony didn't know what he was talking about. But as the fuzzyness of sleep moved aside, he remembered chaos' story. "O-Oh..." Tony straightened slightly to look chaos in the face. Was he asking him to never question him again? To never know? Looking into those luminous aquamarine eyes, Tony wondered how he could ask it of him. He wanted so desperately to know chaos as intimately as he could, and chaos was asking him to abandon all hope of ever knowing the truth.   
  
But if he didn't promise... Was refusing worth that risk?  
  
Tony's eyes widened as chaos unclasped one of the buttons at the neck of his vest. Within moments, the orange vest was on the floor. Tony pulled back in shock.   
  
"chaos, I..."   
  
"No." chaos interrupted in a heavy voice. "Not yet. Don't answer yet." The boots were gone, and the shorts were gone. chaos was pulling out of his black bodysuit like a butterfly desperate to leave its cocoon. "Just let me..."  
  
When the fully unclothed chaos moved to kiss him, Tony finally jolted out of his stupor. "Whoa, hold on!" He grabbed chaos' shoulders and held him back. "I... You aren't going to regret this like you did last time, are you? I can't do this is if it's going to hurt you again."  
  
"It's okay. I'm aware of what I'm doing."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Very sure." chaos moved to kiss him again.   
  
But Tony moved his head aside. "Really?"  
  
"Really."  
  
"Well..."   
  
Taking Tony's head in his hands, chaos finally kissed him. Hard.   
  
With a surprised whimper, Tony went falling back onto the couch. chaos sprawled out on top of him. Even through the thin layer of his bathrobe, Tony could feel the electric whisper of chaos' skin. It had been so long since he had felt that sensation.  
  
His hands roamed the warm, silky skin. Invisible energy crackled soundlessly at his touch. Exactly as he remembered it. Tony often wondered why chaos covered nearly every inch of his skin almost obsessively. Very rarely did he go without his bodysuit and gloves, and even then, he was careful not to let anyone touch him. Did he know how good it felt to touch him, that sensation, more alive than anything Tony had ever felt? What secret was so terrible that he couldn't confide it to anyone? Finally breaking away, breathlessly chaos whispered, "It's okay."  
  
"Uhhh..." chaos arched gently as he slowly sunk down onto Tony. "I think you've grown since the last time we did this."  
  
"Is it..." Tony said in concern, but chaos shook his head with a smile.  
  
"That wasn't a complaint, Tony."  
  
God, it was good. He had forgotten just how good it felt to be inside that warm, moist heat. It was like nothing else he had ever experienced. chaos fit him like a glove, tight and soft. The strange energy chaos gave off flowed through him from where their bodies joined, making his own skin tingle, and igniting sparks of pleasure throughout his body. They became a circuit for something that was simply indescribable.  
  
Ebb and flow, light and dark, everything moved within their own special rhythm. Until...all crashed in a brilliant world of pleasure. Hearing chaos groan loudly, Tony opened his eyes. And gasped.  
  
Two large, white, feathery wings had sprouted from chaos' back. They were fully spread, stretching out to either side, glowing with a faint light. chaos didn't seem aware of them, head thrown back, eyes closed, mouth open, in a mask of rapture.  
  
Tony was transfixed. And suddenly, he understood.   
  
Finally the angel gently collapsed against Tony, completely spent. As the wings fell around him, Tony watched as they dissolved into particles of light that swirled and danced, before disappearing completely. One last, solitary feather came to rest near Tony's head. Then it too burst into a cloud of glowing particles. And all was dark again.  
  
Closing his eyes, Tony pulled his arms up around chaos' back. They were too spent to move, too busy catching their breath to speak. Tony could feel him trembling, and with each tremble, chaos gave a brief whimpering moan. In his memory of their past times together, Tony couldn't remember chaos having come that hard before.   
  
Tony was trembling too, but not just from his orgasm. chaos wasn't human. Not even uberhuman. Deep inside he had always known, but he had still felt that chaos was something earthly, if completely mysterious. Tony's hands rubbed over the boy's shoulder blades, feeling nothing out of the ordinary there. No sign of any wings now.   
  
chaos sighed into Tony's chest. "Slight shifts in perception can show you the truth. Or alter it completely. So therein lies the question of what is real and what is not." chaos said softly. "How deep does it go? How many layers of reality are there? I still don't know. Despite it all, I still don't know."  
  
Perception? Tony frowned to himself. He didn't understand. Was chaos really an...angel? Or was that only how he perceived him? And if it was the latter, how in the hell did that happen? "Layers of reality? So...you mean, it would be impossible to know what was real, if we couldn't tell if there were still more realities beneath what we know. Or if there were many realities, based on the way we perceive it... Or..." Tony trailed off, trying to wrap his mind around it. He waited for more explanation from chaos, but none came.  
  
Several minutes passed, with only the sound of their breathing.  
  
"chaos...?"  
  
"..."  
  
Tony realized what he was now silently asking. This was the choice chaos had given him. Rolling onto his side, Tony curled protectively around him. chaos clung, still trembling. More than ever, Tony wanted to know the truth. As much as chaos could tell him. But was it worth losing him?  
  
No matter what, Tony couldn't keep him. He knew that now. Sooner or later, chaos would leave. Nothing...no one...earthly could keep him. He had realized that the moment he had seen the wings. But that he could have him now, for however brief time was given to him, was a gift.   
  
"I promise." He whispered into silvery hair.  
  
---  
  
Nine years had passed since that night. Tony was now twenty-nine, and chaos...well, he was as he always was. Mysterious as ever. Almost always smiling despite the shadows that lurked in his eyes.  
  
Tony was broken out of his thoughts by the troubled stirring of chaos in his arms. Something wasn't right. In all those years, Tony had never seen chaos as distracted as he was now. Ever since Shion and that android KOS-MOS were brought onboard, he had become fascinated with them and increasingly withdrawn from the crew. Tony noticed he rarely slept now, although chaos was notorious for his frequent napping. Yet, somehow, he was harder to reach than ever.  
  
When chaos wasn't on the bridge, he'd been trailing after Shion and KOS-MOS. Sure, chaos was always friendly and helpful, but this ongoing behavior was beginning to make Tony uncomfortable. chaos never strayed long from the Elsa crew. Tony knew this was mostly because of his secretive nature. He never let anyone get to know him very well, if at all. And even if the Elsa crew wasn't really an exception to this rule, they were still different...they were family. They were part of his safe haven.  
  
At least, that's how it had always been. But something was changing now, and it scared him. On the occasion Tony did come across him alone, he would discover chaos too lost in thought to notice him coming. Then he would smile, and act like his usual self, which only made Tony more concerned.   
  
Of course, Tony didn't pry. He had made a promise. Not even after the strange outburst on the bridge, had he said anything. Neither had the others, the silence came naturally to all of them now. chaos didn't even acknowledge them as he hurried off the bridge. Then the gnosis invaded, and there wasn't much time to think about it.   
  
So much had happened lately, Tony felt dizzy. It had started with Shion and KOS-MOS, and since then, the Elsa crew had been on a non-stop rollercoaster ride, sometimes exciting, sometimes horrific. Tony had never been through so many tight spots in such a short length of time. And although everything was peaceful at the moment, he suspected it wasn't over yet.   
  
He held chaos tighter and buried his face in the top of his hair. Even though they were finally on Second Miltia, and the others were gone, it wasn't over. During their time there, chaos had barely been involved with the Elsa repairs. He didn't say where he wandered to, and of course, no one would pry further. Tony had his suspicions.  
  
chaos had come to him tonight, his eyes shining bright. Tony tried to comfort him the best he could. It had been their first time alone in a while. Not a word passed between them, just the love and familiar rhythm.   
  
With a sigh, he fingered the metal chain still hanging around his neck. At the end, were a pair of old dogtags. Tony held them up to his face, staring at them as if they might finally tell him their secrets. Engraved into the dogtags were letters that glowed with a faint bluish-green light. Military coding he couldn't understand, and a name on both, a name that still puzzled him. chaos. No last name, no other initials of any kind. Just "chaos". Before leaving for Proto Merkabah, chaos had given him these dogtags, without any explanation.  
  
The last of the team to leave the bridge, he had turned back and pressed something into his hand. "Oh, please keep these safe." chaos had said, then walked away to rejoin the others.  
  
After safely entering Second Miltia's atmosphere, Tony had tried returning them, but chaos only shook his head with a smile. "These belong to you."  
  
Tony frowned at the slightly burnt tags. They looked too old and worn to be something chaos had picked up at a novelty shop. But why was his name on them? And where the hell did they come from? They made his head hurt.  
  
Yet, deep inside, Tony knew what was different about that night. He knew why chaos had given him the tags. He just didn't want to admit it. Not yet. Even after all these years, he still wasn't ready, he didn't think he ever would be.   
  
Now, everytime chaos left, there was a very good chance he wouldn't come back. chaos knew it, and Tony knew it. Why it was happening now, he didn't know for sure. But whatever it was, it was beyond his control. All he knew for certain was that he would be there for chaos, for as long as he could, no matter what came next. He loved chaos, and at least that would never change.  
  
With a soft sigh, chaos finally relaxed, nestling into Tony's chest. Soft invisible waves of energy soothing his skin, Tony closed his eyes. No more worrying about it. The reassuring thought purred through his body and mind.  
  
It would be.  
  
---  
  
I feel like I'm drowning  
Trying to catch my breath  
Don't know what is happening  
There's no sense of time...  
  
Deep underneath my skin  
Feeling the pain within  
Hear my cry... I feel drawn towards you  
Can't resist, I don't know why...  
  
My life is changing, I can not recall  
Where I've been before... the abyss of your eyes  
Meaning so much more  
Am I losing my mind...  
  
The sun isn't shining  
But your eyes light my way  
I've found what I've been searching for  
My love won't go astray  
  
Deep underneath my skin  
Feeling the pain within  
Hear my cry ...Hear my cry... I feel drawn towards you  
Can't resist, I don't know why ...I don't know why...  
  
My life is changing, I can not recall  
Where I've been before... the abyss of your eyes  
Meaning so much more  
Am I lost...  
  
So many years   
My drifting heart has wandered around  
Don't turn on me  
Won't you stay by my side  
  
I can not recall  
Where I've been before... the abyss of your eyes  
Meaning so much more  
Am I losing my mind...  
  
- "The Abyss of Your Eyes" Stratovarius  
  
---  
  
END  
  



End file.
